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The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster and the over-reliance on PowerPoint (2019)

(mcdreeamiemusings.com)
210 points scapecast | 3 comments | 28 Aug 25 21:44 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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bigstrat2003 ◴[29 Aug 25 01:47 UTC] No.45059108[source]▶
I don't see how this has anything to do with PowerPoint. There wasn't clear communication; the medium was completely incidental to that. They could have been writing on a chalkboard and had a communication failure, does that mean that chalkboards should be blamed in that case?
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stinkbeetle ◴[29 Aug 25 01:59 UTC] No.45059191[source]▶
Because the medium is not conducive to dense amount of technical information that readers are expected to use to make or understand decisions. Other similar mediums like a chalkboard were not singled out because the problem was identified with PowerPoint specifically. And it wasn't a choice of mediums all with similar problems, but slides vs papers. From the article,

> “The Board views the endemic use of PowerPoint briefing slides instead of technical papers as an illustration of the problematic methods of technical communication at NASA.”

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1. breadwinner ◴[29 Aug 25 02:03 UTC] No.45059219[source]▶
Would it be better if you sent them a PDF document instead? There seems to be an assumption here that if you send the stakeholders a larger volume of information they will take the time to read it. Is that a valid assumption?
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2. mhh__ ◴[29 Aug 25 03:10 UTC] No.45059711[source]▶
Memos and reports also ask the author to try to explain things clearly and at length, a PowerPoint, even a technical one is usually figures and bullet points

Jeff bezos iirc speaks at length about this.

3. stinkbeetle ◴[29 Aug 25 13:07 UTC] No.45063610[source]▶
Are you asking me what I (a layperson having no knowledge of the organizations or projects) think, or are you asking me to look up the recommendations in the report that found over use of PowerPoint to have contributed to the communication problems at NASA for you?