2. Rationale

The Center Engineering Technical Authority (TA) is required to maintain records for each project's compliance with NPR 7150.2 and records for requested and approved deviations and waivers for each project. This activity supports the Center-level TA's responsibility to monitor and control the use of procedural requirements. It provides appropriate reference material to support continuity in the event of a change in the delegated Center-level software TA. It also provides the software TA with sufficient current and historical knowledge to analyze compliance data and develop a consistent approach for interpreting the requirements of NPR 7150.2 across a number of Center projects.

3. Guidance

The requirement for the Engineering TA to keep records of compliance, deviations, and waivers supports project management, appraisal activities by the Office of the Chief Engineer (OCE), and provides a quantitative basis for evaluating the TA process. Enough detail regarding these records is kept to provide sufficient information for use and reference during the life cycle of the project, as well as for comparisons and lessons learned across projects. The minimum set of documentation includes the project's software compliance matrix, waiver/deviation request package, and the final disposition (approval/disapproval). Records are to be kept in a managed repository.

The waiver/deviation request contains:

• Project identification.
• Scope and duration of the requested waiver/deviation.
• Justification.
• Risk characterization.
• Identification of requirement(s) subject to waiver/deviation.
• Criticality.
• Mitigating factors.

General waiver/deviation processes and direction for NASA TAs are provided in NPR 7120.5 ⁰⁸² and at the OCE website. ²⁶²

The Center configuration management process is employed for the management of these records by the TA.

In addition to local Center records, approved waivers and deviations against NASA Policy Directives (NPD) and NASA Procedural Requirement (NPR) s are submitted for posting in the NASA Online Directives Information System (NODIS) system at the website for Waivers ⁴⁰⁶ in accordance with NPR 1400.1, NASA Directives and Charters Procedural Requirements.

Release requirements for software developed or procured by NASA are governed by NPR 2210.1C, Release of NASA Software ³⁷³. Information and documentation required for the release activity by the Software Release Authority is often contained in records of project compliance to the requirements of this NPR, as well as in the records of deviation and waiver requests and approvals. Appropriate planning by the TA and the software team can assure availability of documentation that satisfies both needs.

Record retention and deletion procedures contained in the configuration management process are performed in accordance with Center record management directives, as well as NPD 1440.6H, NASA Records Management, ²⁶⁸ and NPR 1441.1D, NASA Records Retention Schedules. ⁰³⁷

4. Small Projects

No additional guidance is available for small projects.

5. Resources

5.1 Tools

Tools to aid in compliance with this SWE, if any, may be found in the Tools Library in the NASA Engineering Network (NEN).

NASA users find this in the Tools Library in the Software Processes Across NASA (SPAN) site of the Software Engineering Community in NEN.

The list is informational only and does not represent an “approved tool list”, nor does it represent an endorsement of any particular tool. The purpose is to provide examples of tools being used across the Agency and to help projects and centers decide what tools to consider.

6. Lessons Learned

The NASA Lessons Learned database contains the following lessons learned related to TA records:

Accident Investigations/Archiving of Data & Library Requirements. Lesson Number 1457. A documented lesson from the NASA Lessons Learned database concerning the Columbia accident investigation describes a situation wherein the "...handling, destination and formats of archival documentation were not fully considered in initial startup of library requirements".  It suggests that "For accident investigations, handle all data and documentation with the understanding that it will eventually be officially archived."  This means that the data will be officially archived by sending it to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) ⁴²⁷ and, as such, will become public information.  The important element for this SWE guidance is that the considerations and plans for record retention are to include the needs of those circumstances that typically present themselves in the later stages of the system's life cycle. This helps set the needed level of completeness in the records at the beginning of the TA's involvement. ⁵⁵⁵