Standards for mission operations documentation

Documentation has been called the lifeline of computer systems. This is especially true for the Mission Operations Division (MOD) at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, where the high visibility of spacecraft missions requires quick and accurate resolution of computer problems. To develop documentation to support this environment, the MOD has devised a documentation structure and tailoring scheme that is flexible but not flimsy, ordered but not rigid, and focused without being limited. This paper describes the essential elements of this structure