NASA Risk Management Program

Print Version

This course builds on the knowledge of NASA’s approach to managing risk provided in Understanding Risk Management: An Exploration of Core Concepts. The course provides an opportunity to evaluate and practice application of the Risk Informed Decision Making (RIDM) and Continuous Risk Management (CRM) in the context of NASA projects and programs.  Participants will collaborate on a threaded case study as described in the Risk Management Handbook.

Required Pre-requisite: Fundamentals of Risk Management at NASA SMA-OV-WBT-137.

Course Number: APPEL-RMTP

Length: 7.00 hours

Audience: This course is designed for NASA’s technical workforce, including systems engineers and project personnel who seek to develop the competencies required to succeed as a leader of a project team, functional team, or small project.

Print Version

This course provides detailed insight of NASA’s risk management principles and practices.  The course takes up and explores in greater detail core concepts introduced in the required pre-requisite “Fundamentals of Risk Management at NASA” SATERN course.  Recommended approaches and guidance for applying Risk Informed Decision Making (RIDM) and Continuous Risk Management (CRM) processes are introduced.

Required Pre-requisite: Fundamentals of Risk Management at NASA SMA-OV-WBT-137.

Course Number: APPEL-RMCC

Length: 7.00 hours

Audience: This course is designed for NASA’s technical workforce, including systems engineers and project personnel who seek to develop the competencies required to succeed as a leader of a project team, functional team, or small project.

Print Version

This course provides you with an overview of the definition of risk leadership as stated in the NASA Agency Risk Management Procedural Requirements, NPR 8000.4. It highlights important aspects such as risk culture, risk posture, decision velocity, and the importance of balancing risk versus benefits. Throughout, you'll hear from NASA's risk leaders from a variety of fields and expertise as they share their experiences and describe what risk leadership means to them. You’ll also learn the vital role that you play in risk leadership at NASA.

As an IACET Accredited Provider, the NSC offers IACET CEUs for its learning events that comply with the ANSI/IACET Continuing Education and Training Standard. Please refer to the CPE field below for the number of CEUs on this course.

Course Number: SMA-HQ-WBT-220

Length: 0.65 hours

Audience: This course is intended for the NASA general audience.

Print Version

This course is designed to provide an overview of risk management, including key concepts and terminology, agency principles and practices, foundations of the Objectives-Driven Risk Management framework, and communication of risk information.

As an IACET Accredited Provider, the NSC offers IACET CEUs for its learning events that comply with the ANSI/IACET Continuing Education and Training Standard. Please refer to the CPE field below for the number of CEUs on this course.

Course Number: SMA-OV-WBT-137

Length: 1.65 hours

Audience: This course is intended for a general NASA audience. 

Print Version

Print Version

Print Version

Organizational Risk and Opportunity Management (OROM) concerns the means by which organizations apply risk and opportunity considerations in developing their strategic goals and objectives; implement them through a portfolio of programs, projects, institutional assets, and activities; and manage them through controls.  The overall purpose of OROM is to reach an optimal balance between minimizing the potential for loss (risk) while maximizing the potential for gain (opportunity).  

This report discusses the philosophical underpinnings of OROM, the integration of OROM with existing management processes and the nature of the activities that are performed to implement OROM within this context.  The concepts and applications presented in this report are offered to stimulate thought about how to put OROM into effect both at the executive level of NASA and at organizational levels that are responsible for the technical work (e.g., NASA centers).  

While directed especially toward NASA, the report is relevant as well for other agencies of the government and nonprofit research institutions whose mission involves the development of science and technology in the national interest.  

Print Version

Office of Management and Budget Circular No. A-123 defines management's responsibility for internal control in federal agencies. A re-examination of the existing internal control requirements for federal agencies was initiated in light of the new internal control requirements for publicly traded companies contained in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Circular A-123 and the statute it implements, the Federal Managers’ Financial Integrity Act of 1982, are at the center of the existing federal requirements to improve internal control.

Print Version

Office of Management and Budget Circular No. A-ll provides guidance on preparing the Fiscal Year 2016 budget and instructions on budget execution.

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A message from NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden on NASA and the importance of risk.

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Meeting minutes and presentations from the 2014 Enterprise Risk and Opportunity Management workshop.

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This NASA Procedural Requirements document provides the requirements for risk management for the agency, its institutions, and its programs and projects as required by NPD 1000.0, Governance and Strategic Management Handbook; NPD 7120.4, Program/Project Management; and NPD 8700.1, NASA Policy for Safety and Mission Success. Risk management includes two complementary processes: Risk-Informed Decision Making and Continuous Risk Management.

Print Version

This policy covers NASA's safety and mission success, including risk and risk acceptance. 

Print Version

This document provides the statement of policy and responsibilities for all of the management and engineering disciplines under the purview of the Office of the Chief Engineer, including NASA Procedural Requirements covering management of space flight, research and technology, information technology, and institutional infrastructure programs and projects; systems engineering; software engineering; technical standards; lessons learned; product data management/product life cycle management; and the use of the metric system. Additionally, this document consolidates the agency's crosscutting software policy and responsibilities across NASA Headquarters' offices and mission directorates.

Print Version

NASA's policy is to comply with Office of Management and Budget Circular A-123, Management's Responsibility for Internal Control, which provides government-wide requirements for internal control and accountability, based on the Federal Managers' Financial Integrity Act. Specifically, it is NASA's policy to

a. Develop and maintain internal control policies, procedures, plans and assessments to provide reasonable assurance that the objectives of effective and efficient operations, reliable financial reporting, and compliance with applicable laws and regulations are achieved.

b. Hold Officials-in-Charge and center directors responsible for the development, implementation and effectiveness of internal controls, and for annually assessing and reporting on the effectiveness of internal controls.

c. Ensure that internal control and accountability underpin decisive governance over organizational structure; policies and procedures; processes for managing programmatic, financial, and institutional activities; checks and balances; and tools and techniques to uphold the agency's integrity, efficiency and effectiveness.

d. Ensure that internal controls are well integrated into new or revised activities when making changes to ongoing activities and implementing new activities in programmatic and institutional operations or financial management processes.

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This NASA Policy Directive provides the overall policy framework for NASA's strategic acquisition process with appropriate references to other key processes and directives. This strategic acquisition process complies with NASA obligations as a federal agency and is applicable to each of NASA's major areas of investment (Flight Programs and Projects, Information Technology and Institutional Infrastructure, and Research and Technology) to ensure the efficient, effective use of the resources entrusted to the agency.

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This NASA Policy Directive has two primary aims: (1) to set forth NASA’s governance framework — principles and structures through which the agency manages mission, roles and responsibilities and (2) to describe NASA’s Strategic Management System — processes by which the agency manages strategy and its implementation through planning, performance and results.

Print Version

This course covers in detail one of the two processes comprised in the NASA Risk Management process required by NPR 8000.4. Its content is based on the NASA RIDM Handbook and it provides detailed guidance for implementing the RIDM requirements of NPR 8000.4, with a specific focus on programs and projects in the Formulation Phase. Content includes RIDM process interfaces, the technical details of the various steps in the RIDM process and a case study, with opportunities for student participation, that runs throughout the course to illustrate the key learning points. This course is intended for NASA program, project, mission support, institutional, systems engineering, and Safety and Mission Assurance personnel who wish to play a role in bringing about improved decision-making anywhere in the agency.

Course Number: SMA-RISK-OSMA-0013

Length: 8.00 hours

Audience: This course is intended for engineers and engineering project managers.

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Fostering timely, transparent, and meaningful risk dialogue across the enterprise.

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Equipping NASA personnel with the knowledge and skills to practice effective RM, tailored to their roles and responsibilities.

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Identifying and advancing RM tools that support risk analysis, decision-making, and cross-level communication.

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Building capacity and accountability for effective risk-informed leadership at all levels.

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Strengthening Agency-wide structures, processes, and principles for consistent RM practice.