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From: wagner@utcs.uucp (Michael Wagner)
Newsgroups: net.columbia,net.space
Subject: Re: Morton-Thiokol Engineering Claims
Message-ID: <1146@utcs.uucp>
Date: Fri, 7-Mar-86 11:12:12 EST
Article-I.D.: utcs.1146
Posted: Fri Mar  7 11:12:12 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 7-Mar-86 11:32:39 EST
References: <1301@decwrl.DEC.COM> <758@ism780c.UUCP> <6442@utzoo.UUCP> <179@axiom.UUCP> <584@hoptoad.uucp>
Reply-To: wagner@utcs.UUCP (Michael Wagner)
Organization: University of Toronto Computing Services, general purpose UNIX
Lines: 38
Summary: 


There is something that is being missed in this discussion, however.
It's been pointed out that engineers have other responsibilities
(careers, family) that would cloud/slow down the decision-making
process (and it seems like there really wasn't all that much time,
perhaps a few hours, when they knew the temperatures that were going
to be 'on' at launch).  But what hasn't been dealt with at all is the
personalities of said engineers.  Most people (UN*X hacks apparently
excepted) are seldom 100% convinced of anything.  And it seems to me
that much of this sort of engineering is new and different, so there are
few 'rules of thumb' to back one up.  Now consider someone who has been
brought up not to make a fuss, even when they know they are right
(pretty common in our (general) society, if not on this network).
Add the fact that they aren't all that sure that they are right.
Add to that the fact that they only had a few hours when they were in
possession of all the facts.  Add the fact that they had already been
overridden by two management groups (their own, and NASA's).

Perhaps I'm stupid, but I think people have been coming down a little
hard on these people.  I certainly don't know what I would do in that
case.  I would like to think that I would come forward, but I'd have to
be d**m sure of my facts (and I, unlike most of my friends, am probably
almost as self-assertive as others here (claim they?) are.)

It's also a lot easier to be a monday-morning quarterback (which is
what we've been doing here).  I'd be interested in hearing opinions from
engineers/etc who have really been in similar situations.  Not the time
that you went three rounds with your boss over the naming convention of
tty ports on your system, but the times when you chose (not) to speak up
in situations of life-threatening design/execution problems.  Seems to me
that the people who have *really* been there are the best qualified to
speak on this matter.

Anyone willing to start?  In order to keep it focused, and not just become
a mod.risks discussion, it would be wise to try to relate the experience
to the Morton-Thiokol situation.

Michael Wagner (wagner@utcs)