Overview

    The Office of the Chief Engineer provides policy direction, oversight, and assessment for the NASA engineering and program management communities and serves as principal advisor to the Administrator and other senior officials on matters pertaining to the technical readiness and execution of NASA programs and projects. Below are the functional technology areas under the purview of the Office of the Chief Engineer.

Functions of the Office of the Chief Engineer — Technology Areas

  • Engineering Excellence

    Engineering Excellence

    Supporting and developing collaborative engineering environments and advancing NASA's engineering practices through continuous process and product improvement, engineering metrics, updated policies and guidelines, infusion of research and technology, and enhancing knowledge and skills.

  • Software Engineering

    Software Engineering

    The Office of the Chief Engineer advances NASA's software engineering practices through Continuous process and product improvement, software engineering metric, updated policies and guidelines, infusion of software engineering research and technology, and by enhancing engineering knowledge and skills.

  • Systems Engineering

    Systems Engineering

    NASA's Systems Engineering program develops and implements an Agency-wide framework for a premier systems engineering capability. It is widely recognized for its leadership and expertise in the engineering of systems and subsystems to enable NASA to provide leading-edge aerospace research, products, and services.

  • Technical Standards

    Technical Standards

    The NASA Technical Standards Program is sponsored by the Office of the Chief Engineer. Its primary mission is the enhancement of NASA's engineering capabilities by providing technical standards required to meet the needs of the Agency.

  • NASA Engineering Training

    NASA Engineering Training

    The Academy of Program/Project & Engineering Leadership (APPEL) is a research-based organization that serves project practitioners by providing products and services that manage risk, maximize human capital, contain cost, maintain project schedules, develop high-performance teams, and promote mission success.

  • Lessons Learned

    Lessons Learned

    The NASA Lessons Learned system contains the official, reviewed learned lessons from NASA programs and projects. Its varied contents are sought by thousands of visitors a month who represent a multitude of disciplines including science, engineering, education, manufacturing, and project management.

  • Earned Value Management

    Earned Value Management

    Earned Value Management (EVM) is a program management technique that integrates technical performance requirements and resource planning with schedules, while taking risk into consideration. EVM allows more effective management decision making.

  • Inventions & Contributions Board

    Inventions and Contributions Board (ICB)

    As a NASA innovation source, the Inventions and Contributions Board (ICB) has over the past 50 years distributed millions of dollars for thousands of technologies that have enhanced the nation's space program and the individual citizen's quality of life.

Additional Resources

  • Organizations

    Related Support Offices and Organizations

    Many NASA support offices and non-government organizations provide resources related to the functions and technology areas within the NASA Office of the Chief Engineer. This list provides links to some of those resources.