Elements of Engineering Excellence

NASA looked back on its illustrious history and condensed the traits that were responsible for its mission successes. They got it down to 9 principles and 27 lessons learned. This list represents over 1 trillion dollars of hardware development. It is foolish to ignore it.

The 9 Principles and 27 Lessons Learned from NASA 1958-2012

1. System success depends on the creativity, judgment, and decision-making skills of the people
   1. People Are the Prime Resource for Project Success
   2. People Skills are Mandatory for Achieving Successful Products
2. Space systems are challenging, high-performance systems
   3. Demand for High-Performance Lead to High Power Densities and High Sensitivities
3. Everything acts as a system (whole)
   4. Systems and Technical Integration
   5. Risk Management
   6. All Design is a Paradox, a Balancing Act
4. The system is governed by the laws of physics
   7. Physics of the Problems Reigns Supreme
   8. Engineering is a Logical Thought Process
   9. Mathematics is the The Same!
   10. Fundamentals of Launch Vehicle Design
5. Robust Design is based on our understanding of sensitivities, uncertainties, and margins
   11. Robustness
   12. Understanding Sensitivities and Uncertainties is Mandatory
   13. Margins Must Be Adequate
6. Project success is determined by life cycle considerations
   14. Design Space Constrained by Where you Are in the Life Cycle
   15. Concept Selection and Design Process
   16. Requirements Drive the Design
   17. Designing for the -ilities and Cost
7. Testing and verification have an essential role in development
   18. Hardware and Data Have the Answers
   19. Can Test Now or Will Test Later
   20. Independent Analysis, Test, and Design are Keys to Success
   21. All Analyses and Tests are Limited
   22. Scale is a Major Issue
8. Anticipating and surfacing problems must be encouraged
   23. Must Hear and Understand All Technical and Programmatic Opinions
   24. There are No Small Changes!
   25. Expect the Unexpected
9. Leadership is the foundation
   26. Integrity
   27. Focus Beyond Yourself

Elements of Engineering Excellence (start here)

Additionally referenced reports

• Lessons Learned in Engineering
• Engineering the System and Technical Integration