Best Practices for Aerospace Technical Project Management

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Best Practices for Aerospace Technical Project Management

Purpose. This page provides practical guidance for students, technical project managers, and engineering teams working on aerospace projects such as Bee-Plane, Mini-Bee, ISO-Plane, and GPS 4D.

It focuses on project management, technical management plans, documentation, open-source continuity, and TRL-based engineering delivery.

1. Why project management matters in aerospace

Aerospace projects are complex because they combine:

  • safety-critical design;
  • multidisciplinary engineering;
  • long development cycles;
  • certification constraints;
  • cost and schedule pressure;
  • strong dependency between teams and yearly student cohorts.

A good technical project management plan must therefore make the project understandable, traceable, reviewable, and reusable by future teams.

Examples of useful legacy documents:

2. Start with a clear project frame

Before starting CAD, simulation, coding, or testing, the team should define:

Topic Questions to answer
Project objective What problem are we solving? What aircraft, subsystem, or tool is concerned?
Scope What is included? What is explicitly excluded?
TRL target Are we working at TRL1, TRL2, or TRL3?
Deliverables What must be delivered: report, CAD, simulation, dataset, code, wiki page?
Stakeholders Who reviews, validates, reuses, or depends on the work?
Success criteria What proves that the work is complete and useful?

Expert advice. In early TRL projects, uncertainty is normal. The goal is not to freeze every decision too early, but to document assumptions, alternatives, trade-offs, and open questions.

3. Build a Work Breakdown Structure

A Work Breakdown Structure, or WBS, decomposes the project into manageable work packages.

A good aerospace WBS should separate:

  • project management;
  • functional analysis;
  • state of the art;
  • requirements;
  • architecture;
  • design;
  • simulation;
  • validation;
  • documentation;
  • publication.

Example reference documents:

Recommended WBS template

Level Work package Typical outputs
1.0 Project management PMP, RACI, Gantt, risk matrix, meeting notes
2.0 Requirements and functional analysis Need analysis, functions, constraints, use cases
3.0 Technical architecture System diagram, interfaces, trade-off matrix
4.0 Design and modelling CAD, drawings, assumptions, configuration files
5.0 Simulation and calculation FEM, CFD, mass budget, performance model
6.0 Validation Test plan, verification matrix, review checklist
7.0 Documentation and publication Final report, wiki page, README, changelog

4. Use a RACI matrix to clarify responsibilities

A RACI matrix avoids confusion in collaborative projects.

Role Meaning
R - Responsible Person or team doing the work
A - Accountable Person validating the result
C - Consulted Expert or partner giving input
I - Informed Stakeholder kept updated

Example:

Task Project manager Technical lead CAD team Simulation team Coordinator
Requirements update A R C C I
CAD model update I A R C I
FEM simulation I A C R I
Wiki publication R A C C I

5. Plan with Gantt, milestones, and review gates

A Gantt chart is useful only if it includes clear milestones and review points.

Recommended milestones:

  1. project launch;
  2. scope validation;
  3. requirements freeze;
  4. preliminary design review;
  5. simulation review;
  6. final design review;
  7. final report;
  8. wiki publication.

Good practice. Do not use the Gantt chart as a decorative slide. Update it regularly and compare planned progress with real progress.

6. Manage risks from the beginning

Aerospace projects must identify technical, organizational, and safety risks early.

Risk type Example Mitigation
Technical CAD model not compatible with simulation tool Export STEP, simplify geometry, document assumptions
Organizational Poor coordination between schools Weekly sync, shared repository, single decision log
Knowledge loss Previous team results not reusable README, wiki summary, changelog, open formats
Schedule Simulation takes longer than expected Define minimum viable simulation and fallback method
Safety Incorrect load case or unrealistic assumption Peer review and validation checklist

7. Apply agile methods carefully

SCRUM-like routines can work well for student aerospace teams, provided they remain technical and evidence-based.

Recommended rhythm:

  • weekly stand-up: progress, blockers, next actions;
  • sprint planning: 2 to 3 weeks;
  • sprint review: show models, calculations, simulations, or documents;
  • retrospective: what to improve for the next sprint.

Avoid purely administrative meetings. Every review should show engineering evidence.

8. Write a Technical Management Plan

A Technical Management Plan, or TMP, defines how engineering work will be produced, checked, shared, and reused.

Recommended structure:

Section Content
Project context Aircraft, subsystem, TRL level, previous work
Objectives Technical objectives and expected maturity
Requirements Functional, performance, safety, environmental constraints
Organization Roles, responsibilities, RACI
Planning Gantt, milestones, review gates
Tools CAD, simulation, GIS, coding, documentation tools
Interfaces Mechanical, electrical, data, software, operational interfaces
Verification Tests, simulations, peer reviews, acceptance criteria
Documentation Reports, wiki pages, README, changelog, metadata
Risks Risk matrix and mitigation plan

9. Document technical assumptions

Every calculation or simulation must include:

  • objective;
  • input data;
  • assumptions;
  • units;
  • load cases;
  • boundary conditions;
  • material properties;
  • tool version;
  • result interpretation;
  • limits of validity.

Example references:

10. Use open and reusable file formats

For long-term reuse, avoid local-only or proprietary-only files.

Recommended formats:

Deliverable Preferred formats
CAD models STEP, STL, OBJ, native Onshape link
Reports PDF, PDF/A, editable source
Data CSV, JSON, GeoJSON, XML
Simulation Input files, mesh files, result screenshots, configuration notes
Code Git repository with README and license notice
Presentations PDF and editable source

11. Maintain a clean repository

Recommended folder structure: 

/docs
/models
/simulations
/data
/reports
/presentations
/media
/archive
README.md
CHANGELOG.md
LICENSE_NOTICE.txt

Each folder should explain what it contains and how future teams can reuse it.

12. Publish for continuity

A deliverable is not complete until it is understandable by someone outside the current team.

Before publication, check that:

  • the file name is explicit;
  • the version is visible;
  • the TRL level is indicated;
  • sources are cited;
  • assumptions are documented;
  • figures have captions and units;
  • reusable files are attached;
  • limitations and next steps are written.

13. Recommended final report structure

  1. Executive summary
  2. Project context
  3. License and collaboration framework
  4. State of the art
  5. Requirements and assumptions
  6. Project management method
  7. WBS, RACI, Gantt, risks
  8. Technical work performed
  9. Simulations and validation
  10. Results and discussion
  11. Limits of the work
  12. Recommendations for next teams
  13. Deliverables list
  14. References
  15. Appendix

14. License and attribution notice

All public deliverables must include the following notice:

Task achieved under the Lesser Open Bee License 1.3 Chapter 2 Open source – © Coordinator Technoplane SAS.

For private or specifically contracted work, use:

Private Task achieved under the Lesser Open Bee License 1.3 – © Coordinator Technoplane SAS.

15. Final checklist before delivery

Check Question
Scope Is the objective clear?
Traceability Can we trace decisions and assumptions?
Reproducibility Can another team rerun the work?
Quality Have results been reviewed?
Safety Are critical assumptions highlighted?
License Is the Lesser Open Bee License reference included?
Continuity Are next steps clear for future teams?

16. Key references

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