NASA doesn’t just launch rockets. It launches some of the most complex, high-stakes projects on the planet — and beyond. So when veteran project managers at NASA sat down to document their hard-earned lessons, the result was a goldmine of practical, no-nonsense wisdom. Known as the “100 Rules of NASA Project Managers,” this list has circulated internally and externally for decades as a powerful distillation of project truth.
Whether you’re building satellites or software, managing change or launching transformation, these insights resonate. I’ve pulled together the essence of these 100 rules, grouped into thematic categories, and added commentary from my experience managing distributed, tech-heavy initiatives across industries.
I. Leadership and Responsibility
- Know your mission, own your results.
- You are responsible for what your project delivers — excuses don’t fly.
- The PM is not a spectator sport. Be engaged.
- If it’s not written down, it didn’t happen.
- Document decisions — memory fades, paper doesn’t.
- Never assume — verify.
- Trust your team, but verify outcomes.
- If you delegate, stay in the loop.
- Your role is to lead, not to please.
- Take the blame, share the credit.
II. Communication
- The most important skill of a PM is communication.
- Always communicate upward before you’re asked.
- No surprises: keep stakeholders in the know.
- Speak plainly. Don’t hide behind acronyms.
- If you don’t understand it, you can’t manage it.
- Never assume silence means agreement.
- Misunderstandings are your problem to fix.
- Bad news gets worse the longer you sit on it.
- Never punish the messenger.
- Your words shape the culture — choose them wisely.
III. Planning and Risk
- Planning is everything — plans are nothing.
- Make contingency planning a habit, not an exception.
- Know your risks better than your assumptions.
- If you haven’t identified at least ten risks, you’re not trying.
- Every plan has a failure point — find it before it finds you.
- Manage risk like it’s your job — because it is.
- Schedule slips early are cheap; late slips are expensive.
- A late decision is usually the wrong decision.
- Hope is not a risk mitigation strategy.
- Don’t mistake optimism for readiness.
IV. People and Teams
- Hire the best — then get out of their way.
- Your project is only as strong as your weakest communication line.
- People support what they help create.
- Listen more than you talk.
- Feedback is a gift — treat it as such.
- Great teams don’t happen by accident.
- Conflict is not failure — it’s feedback.
- Burnout is a leadership failure.
- Reward collaboration, not heroics.
- Diverse teams see risks others miss.
V. Execution and Delivery
- Done is better than perfect.
- Avoid scope creep like a micrometeoroid.
- Test what matters.
- Early integration always wins.
- Don’t let process override purpose.
- Every meeting needs a purpose and an outcome.
- If it’s not actionable, it’s noise.
- Manage dependencies, not just tasks.
- If something smells off, dig deeper.
- Review everything before it launches.
VI. Budget and Resources
- Track every dollar like it matters — because it does.
- Cost growth is usually the symptom, not the problem.
- If you think you don’t need reserves, you haven’t managed long enough.
- You can’t fix a broken plan with more money.
- Starving the project starves success.
- Don’t let budget drive design.
- Monitor burn rates — and understand what they mean.
- Make friends with finance early.
- The cheapest option is rarely the best.
- Invest in prevention, not repair.
VII. Problem Solving
- Every anomaly tells a story.
- Fix the cause, not the symptom.
- Most failures come from things we thought we understood.
- Be the calmest person in the room.
- Focus on solutions, not blame.
- Don’t confuse motion with progress.
- Escalate early, not desperately.
- When in doubt, get curious.
- Double-check the obvious.
- Learn from every post-mortem.
VIII. Learning and Improvement
- Lessons learned must become lessons applied.
- Build knowledge transfer into the plan.
- Training is not optional — it’s strategic.
- Celebrate wins and process improvement.
- Document as if someone else will need it — they will.
- Ask what you’d do differently — then do it.
- Track failures like assets.
- Every mistake is tuition.
- Growth requires reflection.
- Make retrospectives part of your culture.
IX. Culture and Ethics
- Integrity is your most critical asset.
- If it feels wrong, it probably is.
- Don’t compromise safety — ever.
- Speak up — even when it’s hard.
- Culture beats strategy in a crisis.
- Your team will mirror your behavior.
- Ethics can’t be delegated.
- Transparency earns trust.
- Fix the environment, not just the person.
- Build a culture you’d be proud to inherit.
X. Final Wisdom
- No project survives contact with reality intact.
- Simplicity scales better than complexity.
- One-page summaries beat 50-slide decks.
- Leadership is a verb.
- Don’t wait for permission to lead.
- Projects end — but reputations don’t.
- Celebrate people, not just outcomes.
- Take your work seriously, not yourself.
- Never stop learning.
- Your project may be temporary — but its impact isn’t.
Final Thoughts
The 100 Rules of NASA Project Managers are more than a checklist — they’re a philosophy. They remind us that successful projects aren’t just about Gantt charts and KPIs. They’re about responsibility, communication, trust, and grit. In the high-risk world of aerospace, there’s little room for ego and no room for shortcuts. And while most of us won’t manage missions to Mars, we can bring this level of rigor and integrity to our own projects.
