TPS report (Office Space)

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TPS report became a term to describe any mindless paperwork after its use in the comedy film Office Space, which followed three software engineers who were fed up with their jobs. The main character is reminded several times by several different people that he had forgotten to put the new cover sheet on his TPS report, which is now standard practice according to a recent memo. The explanation that "we're putting new cover sheets on all of our TPS reports now before they go out" is usually followed by "didn't you get the memo?"

In the popular context, "TPS" has become a backronym for "Totally Pointless Stuff", "Total Piece of Shit," "This Place Sucks", "Totally Pointless Shit", "This Project Sucks" or "The Paper Shredder".

[edit] In popular culture

Originated in the movie Office Space.
the TV show Lost - Season 1 Episode 4 - Walkabout (Lost)
an episode (S08E21) of King of the Hill.
in a "Terry Tate: Office Linebacker" commercial.
"TPS forms" on a calendar in the CSI episode "Fur and Loathing," while depicting the date of "PafCon," a fictional furry fandom convention.
in the PC game Counter-Strike:Source on the map cs office as a small easter egg
in the PC game Far Cry, where two guards can be overheard discussing the memo regarding TPS report covers
in the PC games F.E.A.R. and F.E.A.R. Extraction Point, on desks and noticeboards (along with other references to the film Office Space)
two guards can be heard discussing TPS reports in the game Enter the Matrix
an item in Anarchy Online called a "T.P.S." includes a description indicating that "the report that would explain the uses of the item was rejected due to an incorrect and outdated cover sheet."
in City of Heroes, Automaton Office Workers are constantly rambling about their TPS reports.
Dell printed a blurb about remembering the TPS reports on the screen of one of their PDA boxes.
The installer for Red Hat Linux 9 displays photos of various fortune cookie messages, including "OpenOffice.org Writer: For all your TPS reports.".
Telus Mobility radio ads in Canada also mentions TPS reports.
The intercom system in SiNTec's headquarters mentions TPS reports in SiN Episodes: Emergence.