Systems Thinking

An examination of NASA's technical management processes that ensure safety, cost control, and mission success from development through operations.

Exploring how NASA transforms verified designs into operational spacecraft through rigorous product realization and testing.

Examining how NASA transforms stakeholder expectations into rigorous technical requirements that anchor spacecraft design.

A comprehensive exploration of how NASA's systems engineering discipline transforms ambitious space exploration goals into operational realities.

An exploration of NASA systems engineering as a holistic discipline that balances competing interests and navigates the constraints of space exploration.

How the Wright brothers' wind tunnel methodology informs modern systems resilience and reliability modeling.

A two-part series exploring the challenges of systems engineering, from problem definition to engineering resilient solutions.

Exploring why the most brilliant design is worthless if the problem was defined incorrectly from the start.

A batch of polyimide-coated wafers undergoes a standard plasma-etching process to improve adhesion for subsequent layers. Post-process inspection reveals a dramatic darkening of the surface, shifting from a light green to a dark green hue.

Modern electronic systems often fail in environments where they are physically shielded from external pollutants. Thin-film resistors exhibit high-resistance or open-circuit conditions despite being housed in supposedly clean enclosures.