1. Introduction

The SWEHB is implemented as a Confluence Wiki with a number of plugins and macros which make it very user friendly. See Documentation of SWEHB Architecture and Style Guides for details at the Confluence level.

This page discusses the types of pages in the SWEHB. A set of child pages covers the architectural details of how they are formatted (look and feel) and how they are tied together. This has evolved over time and some of the earlier versions have their own structure, The most current, SWEHBVD, has the most fine tuned structure. Structure details are documented here with comments added to explain how old ideas were improved upon to arrive at the current organization of pages. 


 2. High Level Pages

The SWEHB is composed of a small number of High Level pages and a large number of lower, content rich, pages. These pages are accessible through the buttons at the top of all pages and are explained below. 

A. Introduction 

This page is the Home page for each version. It contains several tabs to organize the content. It contains the introductory remarks for the version of the SWEHB. It describes the content of the NPR on which the version of the SWEHB is based. It gives an overview of the content of the NPR as or other relevant associated documents. The Title Material tab gives some version history. the Resources tab contains a list of the references used in the page with links to access those references. 

Finally, in tab 5, there is a list of links for the user to use when accessing other versions of the SWEHB. It is common for large projects, lasting years, to be bound to an earlier version of NPR7150.2. To assist those project, the older versions of the SWEHB are available. 

Tab 5 also contains a link to the SWE History pages. In this area one may look up any SWE by number and read how the SWE changed over time to arrive at it's current wording.

For details see Introduction Architecture. 

B. Institutional Requirements

This page contains a list of the requirements from Chapter 2 of the NPR. They are presented in the order of appearance in the NPR. Each link points to the SWE in that version of the SWEHB. 

C. Project Software Requirements

This page contains a list of the requirements from Chapters 3 through 5 of the NPR. They are presented in the order of appearance in the NPR. Each link points to the SWE in that version of the SWEHB. Subheadings on this page correspond to the subheadings in the NPR. This will enable the reader to easily find the SWE in the NPR is thy choose to. 

D. Topics

This page contains several collections of special topics of interest to different groups of readers: 

  • Engineering Topics - covers items of interest to software developers
  • Assurance and Safety Topics - covers items of interest to the Software Assurance and Safety communities
  • Software Design Principles - provides software design guidance 
  • Programming Checklists - provides checklists for both software designers and Assurance the Safety personnel
  • FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions are contained here for each discipline: Engineering, Assurance, and Safety. Some questions and answers apply across disciplines and are repeated as necessary in each discipline. 

The structure of the content of the topics varies. It is based on the content itself. Some content appears on a small number of tabs, other content is spread out over a large number of tabs. 

E. Tools, References, and Terms

This page contains links to the following collections of content

  • Terms - a list of terms used in the handbook (See Terms Architecture)
  • Acronyms - a list of Acronyms used in the handbook See Acronyms Architecture)
  • Tools - a list of Tools mentioned in the handbook ( See Tools Architecture)
  • References Table - a list of references used throughout all versions of the handbook See Reference Architecture)

Details of how these are constructed and maintained are provided in their respective architecture pages. 

F. SPAN (NASA Only)

SPAN is the Software Processes Across NASA library site at the agency level. The link on this button of the header points to a page with instructions on how to access SPAN. See SPAN Access Architecture for details. 


 3. SWE Pages

SoftWarE requirements are at the heart of the SWEHB. These requirements are delineated in NPR7150.2 by statements in square brackets. Each SWE has a 3 digit number which is the key to the organization in the SWEHB. The organization of information on each SWE page is uniform: 

 1. The Requirement -  contains the exact wording of the requirement from the NPR including the paragraph reference

 1.1 Notes - contains the exact wording of the Notes for the requirement from the NPR

 1.2 History - A reference to a history page for the SWE. This contains the wording of the SWE for each version of the NPR and an explanation of how the wording was changed for each version. 

 1.3 Applicability Across Classes - contains a display of the applicability of the SWE to each of the classes of software. This is taken directly from the Applicability Table in the appendix of the NPR. 

 2. Rationale - Additional information on why the requirement exists

3. Guidance - Information on how the requirement may be satisfied

4. Small Projects - information on how small projects can satisfy the requirement

5. Resources - A lists of references used on the SWE page along with a link to the Tools Table page

5.1 References - Uses the SWEREF and REFTABLE macros to build a list of references noted in the SWE

5.2 Tools - link to the Tools Table

6. Lessons Learned - A list of Lessons Learned that are associated with the SWE

7. Software Assurance - A list of Software Assurance Tasks, Work Products, Metrics and related Guidance associated with the SWE

See SWE Architecture for details. 

 4. Topics Pages

There are several collections of Topics. Each collection has a slightly different presentation style for the material. There are some common features, including: 

  • Purpose - a brief introductory statement about the topic
  • Content tabs - one or more tabs to organize the presentation of the content in an orderly fashion

  • Resources - A lists of references used on the SWE page along with a link to the Tools Table page

    References - Uses the SWEREF and REFTABLE macros to build a list of references noted in the SWE

    Tools - link to the Tools Table

  • Lessons Learned - A list of Lessons Learned that are associated with the SWE


See Topics Architecture for details. 

5. Other Pages

There are a variety of other pages used in the SWEHB to give it the characteristic look and feel. These pages are listed here to complete the picture of the high level architecture of the SWEHB. Individual  detailed Architecture page links are provided. 

  • Admin Pages - a collector for pages used for various purposes throughout the SWEHB
  • Protected Area - an area that Anonymous user cannot see - used generally for development and other pages
  • References Table - a page which displays the full contents of the References portion of the Wiki - See Reference Architecture for details
  • SWE Pages - a collector page for all active SWEs in that version of the SWEHB - See SWE Architecture for details on the SWEs. 
  • Tools Table - a page which displays the full contents of the Tools portion of the Wiki - See Tools Architecture for details. 
  • Topics Pages - a collector page for all active SWEs in that version of the SWEHB - See Topics Architecture for details on Topics. 


Collector page typically only contain a list of the child pages using the Children macro. In some cases there is additional content to explain the purpose of various child pages.