scope:

PURPOSE

This Directive defines the minimum procedural requirements for non-flight and non-facility design and development at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). Its implementation shall satisfy the requirements of the "Marshall Management Manual" (MMM), MPD 1280.1.

APPLICABILITY

This Directive shall be applicable to any non-flight and non-facility design and development activity:

a. That produces hardware or software that directly interfaces with flight hardware for the purpose of testing, manufacturing, processing, handling, etc., of the flight hardware; or

b. Where failure to ensure the quality of the output or product from that activity could adversely affect a critical mission objective (development or production of a piece of hardware or software, meeting a schedule milestone, etc.); or

c. When the project manager or an organization's customer requires the use of this procedure or requires the highest level of design and development control for the output or product produced from that activity.

In determining the applicability of this Directive to any activity, sound engineering rationale shall be employed by the design organization in the interpretation of P.2a through P.2c above. As an example, designs for manufacturing or development 'aids' (such as alignment jigs, holding fixtures, electronic signal converters, electronic checkout boxes, etc.) shall be excluded if the affected flight component will subsequently undergo sufficient test or inspection to find any errors introduced or overlooked by that aid.

This Directive may be used as a guideline for other non-flight, non-facility design and development activities. Organizational Issuances should be created for those activities to ensure that appropriate and consistent practices are utilized and appropriate records of those practices are maintained.

This Directive shall be applicable to those activities addressed above performed by MSFC personnel or by MSFC support contractors and commencing on or after this document's effective date.