Technical Communication, Group Differentiation, and the Decision to Launch the Space Shuttle Challenger
- 1 July 1988
- journal article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
- Vol. 18 (3) , 207-220
- https://doi.org/10.2190/19lq-862p-pant-9t3v
Abstract
One lesson to be learned from the fatal decision to launch Challenger is that effective technical and group communication requires more than the fidelious exchange of information. This article examines testimony gathered by the Presidential Commission on the Challenger Accident and reveals communication failures in four dimensions of group differentiation—clarity, interrelatedness, centrality, and openness. The article illustrates all four dimensions with excerpts from the Commission Hearings and identifies communication problems peculiar to highly technical groups.Keywords
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