On the front of the notebook enter the project title, your name, and other information needed to return the notebook to you in case it is lost.
Keep a table of contents at the front of the notebook.
All entries must be done in ink.
Design notebooks do not have to be neat, but they must be legible.
Do not be obsessed with neatness at the expense of faithfully recording everything as it happens.
Do not crowd the materials on the pages.
Make your entries at the time you do the work.
Include all results and learned information, whether favorable or
unfavorable.
Include all information even if you do not fully understand it at the
time of entry.
If you make errors, just cross them out with an X or a single line. Do not
mark through anything so that it cannot be read.
Do not erase anything.
Never tear a page out of the notebook.
All data must be in their original form (calculations, charts, pictures,
sketches on scrap paper, etc.), not after recalculation or transformation.
Rough drawings should be done directly in the notebook. More careful
drawings, such as machine drawings or computer-generated plots, should be made
and entered in the book.
Information on loose sheets of paper should be entered into the notebook by:
Taping the loose paper to the next available blank page in the notebook
Taping each corner of the loose paper
Use a tape that will accept ink permanently
Place your signature on the loose paper, continue across the tape and end
on the design notebook page. Sign across each corner of the taped part. Date
the signature.
Information that can be retrieved easily (such as research articles from journals) should not be entered into the notebook. Enter only the needed
information and the location of the information in case you must retrieve it
again.
Title each page of the notebook and enter the information in the Table of Contents.
Sign and date the notebook page at the space provided at the bottom.
Have your design entries witnessed, and have the witness sign and date in
the space provided.
The witness needs to have the technical ability to understand the entry.
The work can be witnessed periodically.
Every page of the notebook must be numbered.
No pages should be skipped. This is a chronological record of your work.