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Meeting	ACGS Committee Meeting 100 - Cocoa Beach - October 2007
Agenda Location	6 SUBCOMMITTEE E - FLIGHT, PROPULSION, AND AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE CONTROL SYSTEMS 6.2 Flight Control Lessons Learned
Title	Flight Control Lessons Learned
Presenter	Shawn Donley
Affiliation	NAVAIR
Available Downloads*	presentation
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Abstract	The original plan for this briefing was to present a number of flight control lessons learned gather over the years from personal experience and the experience of colleagues. Along the way, our chairman asked me to lead a project aimed at collecting flight control lessons learned from the government and industry. As a result, the first part of this presentation discussed this lessons learned project, the challenges it poses and offers a suggested way forward. The second part of this presentation included a number of lessons learned. Less than half in my collection were included, and only a few were discussed due to time limitations. Defining a useful “lesson learned” is not as easy at it may seem at first glance. Useful lessons learned can define a “best practice” based on the experience of resolving a difficult problem, alert the reader to a potentially poor approach, or provide a checklist of issues to consider. Above all, a lesson learned has to be AVAILABLE. Without a straight forward and efficient method to find the lesson learned, nothing is gained. The recipe for useful lessons learned includes general relevance, clarity, detail (but not too much) and a good description of the problem’s solution. Dating the lesson learned is also important since technology moves on. Today’s technology could easily supplant problems and approaches that were unworkable a number of years ago. Sometimes a good lesson learned is SO good that it is closely held as a trade secret or at least as a proprietary technology or process. These gems are rarely shared outside a profit- making organization. But if these lessons learned have a clear potential to enhance public safety, one may argue for sharing based on ethical considerations. In any case, the decision to share is in the hands of the holder. Occasionally a lesson learned turns out to be more of a reflection of corporate or personal bias towards one particular technical approach than an unbiased recommendation based on facts. There’s nothing wrong with using whatever worked before, but often this does not constitute a lesson learned. Or perhaps there was a lesson learned behind the recommendation but it is long lost in the corporate memory. A lesson learned can be an unrecognized admission that the perpetrators didn’t have the knowledge or skill to avoid the initial problem. This uncomfortable feeling that accompanies this possibility is probably why we are somewhat reluctant to share lessons learned, but how else do we move forward? Finally, a lesson learned that is valuable only in a limited context and for only highly specific designs is probably not useful due to its lack of generality and extension. What are the challenges for collecting useful lessons learned? First of all, they take time and effort to prepare; and a good deal of effort prepare well. What’s the payoff to the preparer or his/her organization? One possible answer is that by doing so, others will share their lessons and all will benefit. My own method for collecting lessons learned was to write them down in notebooks. This included lessons learned described verbally by others, so the potential for misinterpretation is obvious. A better way is needed. Perhaps an easy to use on-line data base could serve the purpose. Some sort or template is needed to provide structure, but not too complicated. Simple is better. For “failure based” lessons learned, some means to submit with non-attribution is needed, or we all meet every few years in a dark room with some voice altering technology to share our embarrassments. Some editorial review is probably necessary to screen lessons learned prior to them being entered in the general database. Personally I have been frustrated in my attempts to search various lesson learned document or databases. Somewhere there could be a gem that will save my project from trouble, but how do I find it? Some organization is needed, but I suspect any attempt to pre-define all subject areas is doomed to failure. Nothing is more frustrating than having to search through a pull down list of topics and see nothing that fits your situation. More homework is definitely needed before moving forward. Today’s interactive on-line technologies can provide means for reader feedback and even reader modification of the write-up. Is this desirable or does it open the potential for non constructive “flaming” by readers who do not agree with the lesson learned? A web based means of access is an obvious approach for lessons learned dissemination, but that immediately raises the question of access. Should a flight control lessons learned data base have complete and open public access? This is not unprecedented, as demonstrated by one NASA on-line lessons learned site. Unfortunately, we live in an imperfect and dangerous world, and must exercise some caution not to inadvertently bolster our enemies’ capabilities. If we move forward with this project, under the direct sponsorship of a professional organization, it is reasonable to expect some impediments to access (members only, for example, or fee-for-access). This unfortunately flies in the face of the basic underlying tenant of a good lesson learned....if it is not accessible, it’s useless. A few examples of entire reports written around lessons learned, or that contain a rich lessons learned flavor were listed, along with some examples of web based resources. My initial thinking on moving forward with this project is to establish a control & guidance lessons learned web site. This may be a collaborative project with the SAE A-6 committee Systems Panel. I’d like to provide the widest access possible, but not a totally open public site. A suitable server for hosting is TBD. As an incentive to participating, perhaps the content viewable should be made proportional to contributions. Perhaps there are better incentives but so far I have not found one. Some ability to provider user feedback and comment is probably a valuable attribute as long as the feedback remains factual and unemotional. A simple template is suggested, and powerful search features are a must. Part two of this presentation covered part of the author’s collection of flight control lessons learned from personal experience and that of colleagues over the last 35 years. The collection tends to stress the lesson learned rather than the particular circumstances that are behind the lesson. This may or may not be adequate depending on your viewpoint. Some of these lessons learned may have fallen victim to any number of the flaws and traps described earlier. A bit of personal bias may be hiding there as well. I hope these are of some value to you and an encouragement to participate in this project by submitting your lessons learned or constructive ideas for the project. I can be reached at shawn.donley@navy.mil.