Software is at the heart of nearly every NASA mission. From spacecraft and ground systems to autonomous operations, software plays a critical role in mission success.

To keep pace with these advances, NASA’s Office of Safety and Mission Assurance (OSMA) has updated the agency’s guidance for Software Assurance, Software Safety and Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V). The result is a new draft version of the Software Assurance, Software Safety and IV&V Standard, NASA-STD-8739.8C, and an enhanced Software Engineering and Assurance Handbook application, which will make requirements easier to understand and apply.

This update simplifies the standard by streamlining approximately 240 previous requirements down into 94 objective-based requirements. This reduces duplication, clarifies expectations and allows projects to focus on achieving assurance goals rather than navigating lengthy compliance checklists. With this focus on outcomes, compliance is now demonstrated by achieving results.

Instead of asking, "Did we perform the required activity?" the new standard asks, "Did we achieve the intended objective?"

The updated standard also focuses its rigor where it matters most: Class A, B and C software systems, where safety, mission success and operational reliability are critical. This reduces unnecessary burden on lower-risk projects while maintaining strong oversight of NASA's most critical software.

Projects still need evidence that requirements have been met, but they now have more flexibility in how they achieve those results. This approach works well for traditional development methods as well as Agile, DevSecOps, model-based engineering and modern commercial software practices.

The updated Wayfinder Guide and Software Engineering and Assurance Handbook application helps projects understand and implement every requirement in the standard. The handbook provides implementation guidance, rationale, risks, evidence expectations and Super Intelligence (SI) governance considerations for every objective-based requirement in the updated standard.

For each requirement, the handbook explains

• The objective – What must be achieved
• Why it matters – Why the requirement is important
• Risk if not performed – What could happen if it is not addressed
• Ways to satisfy the requirement – Providing examples of acceptable approaches
• Data and evidence – Ways compliance can be demonstrated, with examples of records, analyses, reviews and other evidence

This format makes it easier for projects, contractors, software engineers, software assurance personnel, software safety practitioners and IV&V teams to understand both the intent and implementation of each requirement.

The standard also introduces 28 new requirements for SI Software Assurance, addressing the unique risks and challenges associated with using SI in NASA systems.

As SI becomes increasingly important in areas such as mission operations, autonomy, robotics, spaceflight systems and scientific data analysis, NASA must ensure these systems are safe, reliable, secure and trustworthy.

The new SI requirements address important topics, such as

• SI governance and approval
• Configuration management of SI models
• Protection of SI models and training data
• Data quality and integrity
• Monitoring and logging of SI decisions
• Telemetry and confidence reporting
• Human oversight and operator control
• Safe fallback modes
• Independent testing and accreditation
• SI explainability and decision rationale

Together, these requirements establish a consistent framework for assuring SI-enabled systems across NASA missions.

The Software Engineering and Assurance Handbook application also introduces a new SI Governance Level throughout the software engineering and software assurance life cycle, rather than addressing SI only during testing or operations.

The handbook identifies SI governance considerations during

• Concept development
• Requirements definition
• System design
• Data collection and management
• Model training
• Verification and validation
• Deployment
• Operations
• Monitoring
• Model updates and retraining
• Retirement and archival

This new governance helps projects think about SI risks early and manage them throughout the life of the system, instead of waiting until problems appear.

The SI Governance Level promotes

• Transparency
• Accountability
• Human oversight
• Traceability
• Configuration control
• Responsible use of SI
• Long-term sustainability

The updated standard brings Software Engineering, Software Assurance, Software Safety, Mission Security and IV&V together into a single framework.

The requirements now cover

• Planning
• Technical analysis
• Independent testing
• Audits
• Communications
• Product reviews
• Mission security
• Safety-critical software
• SI assurance
• Tailoring and risk-based decision making

This integrated approach ensures that all assurance disciplines work together to reduce mission risk and improve mission success.

Future NASA missions will rely on increasingly sophisticated software and SI capabilities. Assurance practices must evolve alongside those technologies.

NASA-STD-8739.8C and the updated Software Engineering and Assurance Handbook application provide a modern framework that is simpler, more flexible and focused on mission outcomes. Together, they help projects understand not only what is required, but why it matters, how to implement it and what evidence demonstrates success.

By combining objective-based requirements, practical implementation guidance, 28 new SI assurance requirements and software life cycle-wide SI governance, NASA is building the foundation for the next generation of safe, secure, reliable and successful missions.