Enhancing Collaboration among NASA Engineers through a Knowledge Sharing System

Abstract

Because solar system exploration often involves highly complex missions, a strong infrastructure to support knowledge sharing among engineers is critical to facilitate problem solving and preserve solutions for future work. Any system developed to meet these needs must include the ability to rapidly disseminate content, connect users to the right information regardless of where it is stored, and connect people with the experts and they need. This paper describes the knowledge sharing solution called the NASA Engineering Network, which includes a faceted search, communities of practice, an expertise locator, and a centralized engineering portal. The paper includes details on how the components were developed and provides best practices that other aerospace organizations might use when implementing similar systems.