Rocket science offers a way forward with a deceptively simple principle: test as you fly, fly as you test. According to the principle, experiments on Earth must mimic, to the greatest extent possible, the same conditions in flight. Rocket scientists test the spacecraft as the spacecraft will fly. If the test is successful, the flight must take place under similar conditions. Any significant deviance between the test and the flight can cause catastrophe—whether it’s a rocket, a government website, your job interview, or your next product. In a proper test, the goal isn’t to discover everything
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