Teamwork in the Real World

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is well known for its roles in the space program and in aeronautics. Because teamwork is essential for most NASA missions, NASA has experience in both research on teamwork and implementation of team projects. The purpose of this chapter is not to summarize research results on teamwork. This chapter will summarize our insight into teamwork as it applies to the large institutions and organizations with which we have been associated: University academic systems, Navy research laboratories, and NASA. These organizations represent a variety of systems in which teamwork is commonplace.