Managing a large data acquisition system---Can success be programmed

The design, construction and running of a large data acquisition system requires a non negligible amount of management, starting from the early design phase through the construction and commissioning till the daily operation. Based on the experience gained with the coordination of the Aleph data acquisition project and the contacts with the other LEP experiments, we discuss requirements and strategies, system validation, fault tolerane and project management. Some suggestions are made for future projects.