How Vasa Sank

System engineering issues in the Vasa case that were not addressed well:

* Changing requirements from the king

* From 108ft keel to 120ft keel to 111ft keel to 135ft keel

* From 32 24lbs guns to 36 24lbs to 24 12lbs to 30 24 pounders on 2 decks to 64 24lbs guns – 32 on each deck

* The shipwrights did not have prior experience and knowledge in building 135ft ships with 2 enclosed decks. They only had experience in building 108ft ships

* These changing requirements made it difficult for the shipwrights to build the ships properly. When length of the ship changed, the shipwrights simply scaled up the dimensions from a 108ft keel without considering how it would affect the centre of gravity of the ship.

* Excessive schedule pressure

* The king wanted the VASA to be completed as soon as possible. Even when the requirements from the king were changed, the deadline was not. This causes the quality to be compromised.

* Due to the schedule pressure, instability of the VASA was not sounded out during the testing of the VASA.

* Lack of documented project plan and communication

* They did not have solid blueprints of the ship, everything was built from experience that the shipwrights had from building other ships.

* Division of responsibility not clear and communication was poor; because there were no detailed specifications, schedule milestones, or work plans, it was difficult for Jacobsson to understand and implement Hybertsson’s undocumented plans when Hybertsson passed away.

* 400 people in five different groups worked on the hull, carvings, rigging, armaments, and ballasting—apparently with little, if any, communication or coordination among them. This can case a mismatch in

* Methods for calculating the center of gravity, heeling characteristics, and stability factors for sailing ships were unknown. Only method available was trial and error. When the VASA proved to be unstable during...