I hope this doesn't sound like a silly question but recently some work was done on some software and someone asked me if everything was working and I responded "everything is looking nominal".
From what i've searched using it as an adjective outside of an engineering term it would mean a few different things. But mostly in engineering it means everything is on track. Dictionary
Did I use the word Nominal correctly?
Short answer: No, this usage of nominal is just for rocket launches.
I found this definition in the definitions section of a certain body of U.S. Law on space launches:
Nominal means, in reference to launch vehicle performance, trajectory, or stage impact point, a launch vehicle flight where all vehicle aerodynamic parameters are as expected, all vehicle internal and external systems perform exactly as planned, and there are no external perturbing influences other than atmospheric drag and gravity.
The source is this: https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/401.7
Apparently this usage is legally acceptable in the context of a space launch.
To use it in a software engineering setting would be to borrow from another field of engineering. Using NASA-talk in a humdrum office is a bit jocular, even pretentious. It's like using military jargon: 'roger; copy that; affirmative'
Personally I wouldn't use it on a software project unless I was being cheeky, and only then with an audience likely to get the joke.
No, based on the definitions of nominal, I do not think it fits well, "normal" is simpler and better.
adjective: nominal
- (of a role or status) existing in name only. "Thailand retained nominal independence under Japanese military occupation"
- relating to or consisting of names. "the streets have names like Third Avenue, but the resemblance to Manhattan is only nominal"
- (of a price or amount of money) very small; far below the real value or cost. "some firms charge only a nominal fee for the service"
- (of a quantity or dimension, especially of manufactured articles) stated or expressed but not necessarily corresponding exactly to the real value. "legislation allowed variation around the nominal weight (that printed on each packet)"
- ECONOMICS (of a rate or other figure) expressed in terms of a certain amount, without making allowance for changes in real value over time. "the nominal exchange rate"
- GRAMMAR - relating to, headed by, or having the function of a noun. "a nominal group"
- INFORMAL- (chiefly in the context of space travel) functioning normally or acceptably.
