scope:

Scope and Application

The writing and formatting conventions in this guide are those that are applied in the course of professional editing. Whether your document will be professionally edited or not, as an author, you are encouraged to consult this guide for specific writing and formatting questions and to apply its conventions when it is practical to do so.

This guide applies to KSC directorates and to contractors (to the extent specified in their contracts).

The writing conventions in this guide apply to most of the written communication prepared for or by KSC.

The formatting conventions in this guide apply to Basic editions and Revisions of formal documents and engineering documents. See 6.2 for how the formatting conventions apply to Changes.

The formatting conventions do not apply to documents of the KSC Business Management System (Kennedy NASA Procedural Requirements, Kennedy Documented Procedures, etc.). These documents are governed by KNPR 1470.1.

Purpose

This guide promotes writing that is clear, concise, accurate, consistent, organized, and above all, easy for the reader to understand and use.

Because the customary products of technical writing are specifically formatted documents, this guide also describes the elements that documents commonly include, the elements they should include, and how those elements should be arranged and formatted. It recognizes two broad types of documents: formal documents and engineering documents.

Formal documents are those with lasting reference value across KSC organizations, programs, or projects. KSC Specifications, KSC Standards, and other documents that carry similar broad authority are examples of formal documents. Formal documents are subject to broad and rigorous review and are often invoked in KSC contracts. They are stored in the KSC Library and are available throughout NASA via the Standards and Technical Assistance Resource Tool (START) at https://standards.nasa.gov/.Formal documents are formatted for publication as books, with specific left-hand (even-numbered) and right-hand (odd-numbered) pages. See 4.1 for more detail.

Engineering documents address the engineering, business, or administrative aspects of specific programs or projects. Their reference value and authority are confined to their specific programs or projects, and they are subject to program or project review. Engineering documents are primarily for KSC use but may be invoked for specific procurements. They are stored and managed as specified by the applicable program or project plan. Because of their more limited application and availability, engineering documents can be formatted more simply, without regard for book-publishing conventions. See 4.2 more detail.