1. Requirements

2.1.3.6b Indicate their approval by signature(s) in the compliance matrix itself, when the compliance matrix is used to waive/deviate from applicable “X” requirement(s).

1.1 Notes

The compliance matrix documents the requirements that the project plans to meet, “not applicable” requirements, and any tailoring approved by designated Technical Authorities with associated justification. If a project wants to waive or deviate from a requirement marked as Headquarters Technical Authority, then the project is required to get NASA Headquarters approval (e.g., NASA Chief Engineer (CE), NASA Chief, Safety and Mission Assurance (CSMA), and/or NASA Chief Health and Medical Officer (CHMO)) on a formal waiver/deviation request or on a software compliance matrix.

1.2 Applicability Across Classes

 This requirement applies to all classes and safety criticalities.

2. Rationale

The Engineering Technical Authority (ETA) and Safety and Mission Assurance (SMA) signatures signify that the risk associated with approval of the waived and/or deviated software requirements for that project has been assessed and approved.  Any request for a deviation or waiver from one or more requirements in NPR 7150.2 requires technical review and approval from the appropriate Agency authority.  For NPR 7150.2, those requests are made to the appropriate level and type of Technical Authority (TA) as listed in Appendix C in NPR 7150.2. It is not uncommon for a waiver/deviation to require approval from TAs from two different organizations, e.g., Engineering TA (ETA) as well as Safety & Mission Assurance TA.

3. Guidance

A signed compliance matrix is only required if the project chooses to waive and or deviate from an NPR 7150.2 software requirement(s) applicable to that project.  If the project plans to comply with all of the requirements, a signed compliance matrix is not needed.  If the compliance matrix shows a waived and/or deviated software requirement for that project, then the signatures are required.

The compliance matrix is generally part of the software development plan(s) for the project and should be maintained by the project as part of the project documentation.

Once the appropriate NASA Technical Authority (ies), at the Center or NASA Headquarters (see Appendix C of NPR 7150.2), has reviewed the submitted project compliance matrix (see SWE-126), approval is indicated by a signature on the compliance matrix itself. 

Additional guidance related to technical authority and tailoring may be found in the following related requirements in this Handbook:

4. Small Projects

No additional guidance is available for small projects. 

5. Resources

6. Lessons Learned

No Lessons Learned have currently been identified for this requirement.