This document establishes the requirements by which NASA formulates and implements space flight programs and projects, consistent with the governance model contained in NASA Policy Directive (NPD) 1000.0, NASA Governance and Strategic Management Handbook.

The course is designed to provide an overview of the concepts of processes and process improvement based on software measurements and metrics. It explains not only how to measure, assess and improve software processes, but why these activities are important and the rationale behind them.

Course: SMA-SA-WBT-402
Length: 10.00 hours
Audience: This course is intended for Software Engineers, Software Assurance and other professionals who are involved in the development, testing, assurance, and verification and validation of software.

This course introduces learners to the approach for determining if software is safety critical and strategies to consider to develop safer software. It explains how to perform preliminary hazard analyses for software systems and identifies software safety analyses and activities that are performed throughout the development life cycle. It also discusses Phase Safety Reviews and Hazard Reports.

Course: SMA-SA-WBT-306
Length: 4.50 hours
Audience: This course is intended for professionals in Systems Engineering, Systems Safety, Software Safety, Software Engineering and Software Assurance.

This course explains how to develop software requirements for different NASA software classifications per NPR 7150.2, NASA Software Engineering Requirements including safety-critical software and create technical safety requirements and implement design features for safer software. It addresses elicitation, specification and management of software system requirements and examines iterative prototyping user interactions for a system.

Course: SMA-SA-WBT-303
Length: 10.00 hours
Audience: This course is intended for Systems Engineering, Systems Safety, Software Assurance, Software Safety and Software Engineering professionals.

This handbook will provide an overview of Complex Electronics, the design process and assurance activities. It discusses

• Which devices are “Complex Electronics,” and which are not
• What each device is and examples of use on NASA projects
• How electronics engineers design and program the devices
• What assurance and verification activities can be used for Complex Electronics
• Future trends in the design and assurance of Complex Electronics

The purpose of this standard is to define the requirements for a software inspection process aimed at detecting and eliminating defects as early as possible in the software life cycle. This process can be used for any documented product, however, this standard focuses on its use for software products — i.e., software code, plans, manuals, etc. The process provides for the collection and analysis of inspection data to improve the inspection process as well as the quality of the software.

The focus of this document is on analysis, development and assurance of safety-critical software, including firmware (e.g. software residing in non-volatile memory, such as Read-Only Memory or flash memory) and programmable logic. This document also discusses issues with contractor-developed software. It provides guidance on how to address creation and assurance of safety-critical software within the overall software development, management, risk management and assurance activities.

Software engineering is a core capability and a key enabling technology for NASA's missions and supporting infrastructure. This directive establishes the engineering requirements for software acquisition, development, maintenance, retirement, operations and management consistent with the governance model contained in NASA Policy Directive 1000.0, NASA Governance and Strategic Management Handbook. This NASA Procedural Requirements supports the implementation of the NASA Policy Directive 7120.4.

The purpose of this document is to clearly articulate and establish the requirements on the implementing organization for performing systems engineering. Systems engineering is a logical systems approach performed by multidisciplinary teams to engineer and integrate NASA's systems to ensure NASA products meet customers' needs. Implementation of this systems approach will enhance NASA's core engineering capabilities while improving safety, mission success and affordability. This systems approach is applied to all elements of a system (i.e., hardware, software, human-system integration) and all hierarchical levels of a system over the complete project life cycle.

For all software created, acquired or maintained by or for NASA, including Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) software, Government Off-The-Shelf (GOTS) software, Modified Off-The-Shelf (MOTS) software, open source, embedded, reuse, legacy and heritage software

1. It is NASA policy to utilize a disciplined software engineering approach to acquire, develop, assure, maintain, operate and manage software in support of all NASA's missions, programs and projects. Policy and procedural requirements for software are documented in this NPD, NPR 7150.2 and NPR 2210.1.
2. It is NASA policy to use the NASA Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) Facility as the sole provider of IV&V services when software created by or for NASA is selected for IV&V by the NASA chief of Safety and Mission Assurance.
3. It is NASA policy to report, inventory, manage and protect software created by or for NASA as valuable intellectual property during all phases of the life cycle. It is NASA policy to assert intellectual property rights for software, where deemed appropriate, in order to facilitate its transfer and reuse by commercial, industrial, educational and government organizations.
4. It is NASA policy to establish uniform procedures concerning the release of software created by or for NASA that will maximize its benefit to NASA, the U.S. public and the U.S. economy, and release software consistent with law and applicable agreements for commercial, industrial, educational and governmental purposes. Policy and procedural requirements for the release of NASA software are documented in this NPD and NPR 2210.1, respectively.
5. It is NASA policy to comply with copyright laws protecting computing software and with the provisions of Executive Order 13103, Computer Software Piracy.

This course is an intermediate, practical, hands-on course tailored towards the direct needs of NASA based on NASA-STD-8719.13B and NASA-GB-8719.13. This course is taught in a team-oriented manner that integrates instructor-led practice exercises and a main team exercise with the lectures to emphasize key aspects. This allows the students to practice the concepts in a learning environment. If desired, the center can identify specific projects for use during the exercises to help provide a real-world setting. At the end of each day, feedback will be gathered from the students in order to tailor adjustments to the specific class.

Course: SMA-SOFT-NSC-1005
Length: 30.00 hours
Audience: This course is intended for Safety and Mission Assurance personnel.

This course is for software engineers, Software Assurance personnel and other professionals who are involved in assessing and improving software engineering processes. The course provides an overview of the concepts of processes and process improvement. Participants are taught how to identify measurement goals, select, collect and analyze metrics. Participants are also taught how to use metric data to improve processes.

Course: SMA-SA-ILT-402
Length: 24.00 hours
Audience: This course is intended for Software Assurance practitioners.

This course is an introductory course that introduces terms, principles and activities of software reliability engineering. Design concepts, analytical techniques and mathematical methods that are used to assess and improve the reliability of the system are presented. The course is comprised of six lessons: introduction and definitions, examples of software problems that have caused failures, designing reliable software, analytical techniques for software reliability, quantitative assessment of software reliability, and examples of how fault tolerance is used in reliable computing.

Course: SMA-SOFT-NSC-1000
Length: 6.00 hours
Audience: This course is intended for Safety and Mission Assurance personnel.

This course introduces systems and software engineering managers and practitioners, appraisal team members, and engineering process group members to CMMI fundamental concepts. CMMI models are tools that help organizations improve their ability to develop and maintain quality products and services. CMMI models are an integration of best practices from proven discipline-specific process improvement models.

Course: SMA-SA-ILT-303
Length: 24.00 hours
Audience: This course is intended for Safety and Mission Assurance personnel, Software Assurance practitioners, and system and software engineers.

This is an intermediate-level course for software engineers, Software Assurance personnel and other professionals that are involved in the development, testing, assurance, and verification and validation of software. The course will provide participants with a thorough understanding of software-testing approaches, activities and documents. Participants learn how to define, implement, analyze and assess testing activities that occur during system development, acceptance and maintenance. Types of testing such as white box, black box, model-based, functional, stress and regression are taught as well as considerations in testing such as coverage, traceability and system safety. Test planning and management is also covered. Participants also are taught how to develop test documentation (e.g., plans, procedures, cases, reports).

Course: SMA-SA-ILT-301
Length: 24.00 hours
Audience: This course is intended for Safety and Mission Assurance personnel, Software Assurance practitioners, and system and software engineers.

This five-day course introduces candidate Standard CMMI Appraisal Method for Process Improvement Lead Appraisers, candidate CMMI for Development (CMMI-DEV) instructors, systems and software engineers, engineering process group members, and others to detailed CMMI-DEV concepts, including the relationships among CMMI-DEV model components.

The course is composed of mandatory pre-class assignments, class lectures, student presentations and class exercises and is presented in a facilitative style designed to create dialog among students and instructors. This style of interaction is designed to help each student gain a deeper understanding of the concepts and practices described in CMMI models. Those successfully completing the course will be able to understand the interrelationships among model components (e.g., practices, goals and process areas), interpret CMMI-DEV practices, and apply the CMMI-DEV model to appraise and improve processes in organizations.

Course: SMA-SA-ILT-420
Length: 40.00 hours
Audience: This course is intended for Safety and Mission Assurance personnel, Software Assurance practitioners, and system and software engineers.

Software inspection is a well-defined review process for finding and fixing defects in work products from all phases of software development.

Inspections have proven time and again to be one of the most effective practices available for ensuring quality software and on-time deliveries.

The training includes a one-day lecture, followed by a half-day, hands-on workshop where the process is applied to a work product from the participants’ current project. The participants leave with a list of real defects identified and clear guidance on how to proceed.

Course: SMA-SOFT-NSC-1004
Length: 10.00 hours
Audience: This course is intended for Safety and Mission Assurance personnel.

This three-day course provides students with an in-depth understanding of the concepts they need to achieve and maintain CMMI for Development (CMMI-DEV) maturity level 3, including the relationships among CMMI-DEV model components. The course is composed of class lectures and exercises presented in a style that creates dialog among students and instructors.

Course: SMA-SA-ILT-422
Length: 24.00 hours
Audience: This course is intended for Safety and Mission Assurance personnel, Software Assurance practitioners, and system and software engineers.

This three-day course provides students with an understanding of the concepts they will need to achieve and maintain CMMI for Development (CMMI-DEV) maturity level 2, including the relationships among CMMI-DEV model components. The course is composed of class lectures and exercises presented in a style that creates dialog among students and instructors.

Course: SMA-SA-ILT-321
Length: 24.00 hours
Audience: This course is intended for Safety and Mission Assurance personnel, Software Assurance practitioners, and system and software engineers.

“Software Verification and Validation” (V&V) is an in-depth course that teaches the purpose, concepts, roles and responsibilities, tools, techniques, and products of software V&V. The course identifies the role of V&V, describes the performance of V&V activities and identifies V&V issues throughout the development life cycle. The course also discusses Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) and explains the industry best practices, approaches and requirements for IV&V. Planning V&V efforts also is described.

Course: SMA-SA-WBT-221
Length: 16.00 hours
Audience: This course is intended for Software Assurance practitioners, software engineers, and project and task managers.

This course discusses applications of System Safety concepts, principles and techniques to the development of software, based primarily on NASA-STD-8719.13. Course topics include an overview of System Safety and of software development, NASA requirements for software System Safety, software System Safety programs, implementing a software System Safety program, software hazard analysis including the application of Fault Tree and Failure Modes and Effects Analysis to software, software System Safety design techniques, and software System Safety assurance techniques. 

Course: SMA-SA-WBT-231
Length: 40.00 hours
Audience: This course is intended for Software Assurance practitioners, software engineers, and project and task managers.

This is an advanced-level course for Systems Engineering, Systems Safety, Software Assurance, Software Safety, and Software Engineering professionals that are involved in planning Systems and Software Safety efforts. The course provides details to planning, scoping and tailoring Software Safety efforts. Participants learn to determine the criticality and complexity of software by analyzing technical requirements and to determine the appropriate analyses and Software Safety activities to perform for various types of software. Certification process activities are detailed. Acquiring safety-critical software via solicitations also is presented.

Course: SMA-SA-WBT-431
Length: 24.00 hours
Audience: This course is intended for Safety and Mission Assurance personnel, Software Assurance practitioners, software engineers, and task managers.

This is a detailed course on both Software Failure Modes, Effects and Criticality Analysis, and Software Fault Tree Analysis (FTA). The participants will learn how to develop a Failure Modes and Effects Analysis and critical items list for software and how to use them to mitigate system risks. The participants also will learn how to perform a FTA on software and how to use the software fault trees to mitigate system risks.

Course: SMA-SA-WBT-305
Length: 8.00 hours
Audience: This course is intended for Safety and Mission Assurance personnel, Software Assurance practitioners, software engineers, and task managers.

“Software Configuration Management” (SCM) is an introductory-level course that explains the importance of SCM and data management (DM), defines terms, introduces standards, describes the activities and products of the core processes (identification, control, status accounting and verification), identifies elements of SCM and DM plans, describes the SCM infrastructure, describes software builds and releases, and describes SCM audits.

Course: SMA-SA-WBT-204
Length: 16.00 hours
Audience: This course is intended for Software Assurance practitioners, software engineers, and project and task managers.

This is a 16-hour course designed to provide a knowledge base and practical skills for anyone interested in improving the software quality auditing techniques and practices for conducting individual audits. This course starts with an overview of software auditing basics, including a discussion of quality concepts, terms and definitions, the definition of an audit, and a discussion of the benefits and consequences of conducting audits and of professional conduct. The different types of audits are described, the audit process is introduced, and industry standards and models related to audits are surveyed.

Participants will learn what is involved in initiating an audit, including the verification of the audit entry criteria, the definition of the audit’s scope and purpose, and determination of the audit’s inputs. The audit planning responsibilities of auditor management and lead auditor are discussed. Audit strategies and estimation considerations are reviewed, and the contents of an audit plan are outlined.

Participants will learn how to prepare for an audit by conducting a documentation review and creating audit tools, including a checklist, plan for verifying each checklist item and interview questions. Learners will practice executing an audit by holding opening and closing meetings, gathering objective evidence, and documenting audit findings. Attendees will learn how to document the results of an audit in an audit report and what records should be retained for each audit. This course defines the steps in creating a corrective action plan to address the finding of an audit and the evaluation, verification and follow-up of those corrective actions.

Course: SMA-SA-WBT-203
Length: 16.00 hours
Audience: This course is intended for Safety and Mission Assurance, Software Assurance, Software Engineering, System Engineering, and verification and validation personnel.

“Software Assurance Planning and Management” is a course for personnel who plan and manage Software Assurance (SA) efforts. The course covers in detail how to develop an SA plan for small to large projects and of varying levels of complexity. Estimating resource needs and costs, planning and scheduling tasks, determining and assessing metrics for SA processes and products, managing SA records and assets, and procuring SA also will be covered. Management tools that aid in the above will also be introduced.

Course: SMA-SA-WBT-320
Length: 24.00 hours
Audience: This course is intended for SA practitioners, software engineers, and project and task managers.

This is a practitioner-level course for software engineers; software assurance personnel; verification and validation personnel; and other professionals that are involved in the development, assurance, and verification and validation of software. The course will provide participants with a thorough understanding of common analyses used throughout the software development life cycle in the definition, design, implementation, and verification and validation of software. The course will not teach safety or reliability analyses such as hazard analysis, fault tree analysis, or failure modes and effects analysis. The course will consist of lecture and exercises in using the analyses methods.

Course: SMA-SA-WBT-401
Length: 24.00 hours
Audience: This course is intended for Safety and Mission Assurance personnel, Software Assurance practitioners, software engineers, and task managers.

This course will focus on the safety aspects of Complex Electronics (CE). Safety deals with use, expected failures, human interfaces and reaction to its environment, to name just a few areas. CE encompasses programmable and designable complex integrated circuits. “Programmable” logic devices can be programmed by the user and range from simple chips to complex devices capable of being programmed on the fly. These devices are commonly used within NASA systems, sometimes in safety-critical systems. Both software and quality assurance engineers need to understand what these devices are, where they are used and how they are designed.

Course: SMA-SA-WBT-304
Length: 2.00 hours
Audience: This course is intended for Safety and Mission Assurance personnel, Software Assurance practitioners, software engineers, and task managers.

“Overview of Software Safety” provides an introduction to the Software Safety discipline at NASA. The course introduces the NASA Software Safety Standard and Guidebook and explains how Software Safety integrates with a project’s System Safety program. The participant will learn how safety-critical software is determined and the Software Safety activities and products that are performed and produced throughout the software development and systems engineering life cycle.

Course: SMA-SA-WBT-230
Length: 2.00 hours
Audience: This course is intended for Software Assurance practitioners, software engineers, and project and task managers.

“Overview of NASA Software Independent Verification and Validation” (IV&V) is a high-level course that describes NASA’s approach to IV&V and the work that is performed by its IV&V Facility. While it doesn’t present the processes of the NASA IV&V Facility in detail, it does provide a participant with insight into what types of activities are performed and why.

Course: SMA-SA-WBT-220
Length: 1.00 hour
Audience: This course is intended for Software Assurance practitioners, software engineers, and project and task managers.

This is a beginner-level course for software engineers, Software Assurance personnel and other professionals that are involved in the development, testing, assurance, and verification and validation of software. The course will provide participants with an overview of software testing levels, testing approaches, activities and documents. Types of testing such as white box, black box, model-based, functional, stress and regression are taught. Participants also are introduced to test documentation (e.g., plans, procedures, cases, reports).

Course: SMA-SA-WBT-202
Length: 8.00 hours
Audience: This course is intended for Safety and Mission Assurance personnel and anyone interested in learning more about this topic.

“Introduction to Software Reliability Engineering” is a beginner-level course that introduces the basic concepts and activities of software reliability engineering. The course content will cover how software reliability is a part of system reliability; differences between software and hardware reliability; and basic concepts in designing for, analyzing and predicting reliability. Examples of unreliable computing also are presented. The course focus is on practical suggestions and not theory.

Course: SMA-SA-WBT-240
Length: 8.00 hours
Audience: This course is intended for Software Assurance practitioners, software engineers, and project and task managers.

Complex Electronics (CE) encompass programmable and designable complex integrated circuits. These devices are becoming more prevalent in many of NASA's experiments, satellites and spacecraft.

Introduction: The first part of this course will provide a general overview of CE devices and where they fall within the hardware-to-software spectrum. It also will provide a history of integrated circuits and how they developed into CE devices.

Design Overview: The second part of the course will show how CEs are designed, tested and verified, and how the design is “burned” into the hardware. In addition, the course will provide examples in Hardware Description Languages and future trends in the verification and assurance processes.

Assurance: The final part of the course begins with a brief review of the types of CE devices and their characteristics. It provides an overview of the assurance process for these devices, including what to look for when evaluating them. Then it focuses on the specific assurance activities to be completed during each phase of the design cycle.

Course: SMA-SA-WBT-302
Length: 16.00 hours
Audience: This course is intended for Safety and Mission Assurance personnel, Software Assurance practitioners, software engineers, and task managers.

Intermediate Software Quality Assurance (SQA) is an in-depth course that teaches the purpose, concepts, roles and responsibilities, tools, techniques and products of SQA, software quality engineering and software quality control of products and processes throughout the software development life cycle. 

SQA roles and responsibilities from the perspective of a software acquirer and provider will be explained. Software Assurance activities in support of other activities such as verification and validation, configuration management, problem reporting and Corrective Action, Risk Management, software project planning and management, and software acquisition will also be described. The course will also provide a high level overview of developing a Software Assurance plan.

Course: SMA-SA-WBT-201
Length: 6.50 hours
Audience: This course is intended for Safety and Mission Assurance personnel, SA practitioners, software engineers and task managers.

The course will provide participants with a thorough understanding of software testing approaches, activities and documents. Participants learn how to define, implement, analyze, and assess testing activities that occur during system development, acceptance and maintenance. Types of testing such as white box, black box, model-based, functional, stressand regression are taught as well as considerations in testing such as coverage, traceability and System Safety. Test planning and management is also covered. In addition, participants are taught how to develop test documentation (e.g., plans, procedures, cases, reports).

Course: SMA-SA-WBT-301
Length: 16.00 hours
Audience: This course is intended for Software Engineers, Software Assurance and other professionals who are involved in the development, testing, assurance, and verification and validation of software.

This course will provide an introduction to NASA software engineering skills. It will help Software Assurance practitioners, system engineers and project managers comprehend the software development processes and considerations. It will assist in guiding NASA engineers to make better software-related decisions by knowing where to get information and guidance.

Participants who successfully complete this course will be awarded Continuous Education Units (CEUs) – see CPE field below for number of CEUs. The NSC is an IACET Authorized Provider.

Course: SMA-SA-WBT-206
Length: 6.00 hours
Audience: This course is intended for NASA systems engineers, program and project managers, and all NASA employees who need to be informed and have an understanding of Software Engineering, associated policies and requirements, and NASA roles and responsibilities.

This course is designed for those not working in the Software Assurance (SA) discipline.

The course provides a basis for understanding the importance of SA in making NASA missions and programs safer. You will be introduced to the SA components of software quality, software safety, software reliability, software verification and validation, and software independent verification and validation. You also will become aware of the types of SA activities performed by SA personnel as software acquirers and providers throughout the program and project life cycle.

Course: SMA-SA-WBT-101
Length: 1.50 hours
Audience: This course is intended for Safety and Mission Assurance personnel, SA practitioners, software engineers and task managers.