Assuring that lessons learned critical to mission success get used

NASA has an established process for documenting and disseminating lessons learned from spaceflight missions and related activities. However, independent assessments of the NASA lessons learned process conducted in 2002, 2003, and 2011 have concluded that NASA programs and projects are failing to heed and apply these lessons learned. JPL recently completed implementation of a three-pronged approach to assure that NASA lessons learned get used by JPL spaceflight projects: 1. Targeted Distribution. Newly published entries in the NASA lessons learned repository are reviewed and forwarded to the JPL technical discipline expert best suited to take preventive action. 2. Project Self-Assessment. The JPL project assigns a coordinator to review NASA lessons learned and assign each one to a JPL subject matter expert. The expert then determines its applicability to the project, assesses the potential project impact of non-compliance, evaluates the current compliance status of the project, and proposes a course of action. 3. Lessons Learned Infusion. By cross-referencing NASA lessons learned to specific paragraphs in JPL´s two mandatory core engineering standards, JPL has infused lessons learned into JPL procedures and training such that the institution need not rely on the appropriate person applying a lesson at the proper point in the project lifecycle. These steps have added a closed-loop to the recommendations in the lessons learned, and they assure that the recommendations are fully considered by JPL spaceflight projects.