NASA Procedures and Guidelines
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NPR 7120.7 Eff. Date: November 03, 2008 Cancellation Date:	NASA Information Technology and Institutional Infrastructure Program and Project Management Requirements
| TOC | Preface | Chapter1 | Chapter2 | Chapter3 | Chapter4 | Chapter5 | Chapter6 | AppendixA | AppendixB | AppendixC | AppendixD | AppendixE | AppendixF | AppendixG | ALL |

Chapter 3. Program and Project Management Roles and Responsibilities

3.1 Roles and Responsibilities

3.1.1 The roles and responsibilities of senior management are defined in NPD 1000.0, and NPD 1000.3, The NASA Organization. The key roles and responsibilities specific to program and projects consistent with the process described in section 1.2 can be summarized as follows:

a. NASA Administrator - approves assignment of large (greater than $100 million) projects to performing organizations such as Mission Support Offices or Centers.

b. NASA Deputy Administrator - responsible for operations at the Agency level, chairs the OMC, is the KDP Decision Authority for programs and projects governed by the OMC, and approves the PCA for projects governed by the OMC.

c. NASA Associate Administrator - responsible for the technical and programmatic integration of program portfolios at the Agency level, chairs the Agency PMC, is the KDP Decision Authority for programs and projects governed by the Agency PMC, and approves the PCA for projects governed by the Agency PMC.

d. Chief Engineer - responsible for policy, oversight, and assessment of NASA engineering and program/project management capabilities, and principal advisor to the Administrator on matters pertaining to the technical capability and readiness of NASA programs and projects.

e. Mission Directorate Associate Administrator - responsible for managing program portfolios within the Mission Directorate, is the KDP Decision Authority for programs and projects governed by the Mission Directorate, and is responsible for all budgets, schedules, program requirements, and program requirements on projects within the Mission Directorate.

f. Chief, Safety and Mission Assurance - assures the existence of robust safety and mission assurance processes and activities through the development, implementation, assessment, and functional oversight of safety, reliability, maintainability, and quality policies and procedures; serves as principal advisor to the Administrator and other senior officials on safety, reliability, maintainability, and quality assurance matters; performs independent program and project compliance verification audits; and implements the SMA technical authority process.

g. Mission Support Office Official-in-Charge - responsible for managing program portfolios within the Mission Support Office, is the KDP Decision Authority for programs and projects governed by the Mission Support Office, and is responsible for all budgets, schedules, program requirements, and program requirements on projects within the Mission Support Office.

h. NASA Chief Information Officer (CIO) - responsible for ensuring that NASA's information assets are acquired and managed consistent with Federal policies, procedures, and legislation and that the Agency's Information Resource Management (IRM) strategy is in alignment with NASA's vision, mission, and strategic goals, is principal advisor to the Administrator on matters pertaining to IRM, and is responsible for establishing IT policies, promoting standards, and developing a secure architecture to support scientific, engineering, and administrative information requirements. Implements the Information Technology Authority process and serves as the Institutional Authority for Information Technology as described in section 3.4.

i. Center CIO - responsible for ensuring that Center IT plans, support, services, architectures, policies, procedures, standards, guidelines, and practices support the Agency's missions in a manner that aligns with Federal and Agency requirements and directions, and in particular, aligns with the Agency enterprise architecture. Supports the Agency CIO in accordance with the NASA IT governance model.

j. Program Manager - responsible for the formulation and implementation of the program per the governing agreement with the sponsoring Mission Directorate or Mission Support Office and all applicable NPDs, NPRs, and other Agency policy documents.

k. Project Manager - responsible for the formulation and implementation of the project per the governing agreement with the program manager.

3.2 Program and Project Managers

3.2.1 The program manager works in concert with the project manager, who may be supported by one or more NASA Centers. Each, however, is responsible and accountable to the Mission Directorate and/or Mission Support Offices for the safety, technical integrity, performance, and success of the program or project, while also meeting programmatic (cost and schedule) commitments and institutional requirements. Accomplishing this requires a breadth and depth of skills, so the program and project manager must be knowledgeable about governing laws, acquisition regulations, policies affecting the project, training of direct-report personnel, risk management, resource management, test facilities, software management, and other aspects of program and project management.

3.2.2 It is important for the program manager and project manager to coordinate early and throughout the project's life cycle with mission support organizations at NASA Headquarters and the Centers involved in development and/or implementation of the program/project. These mission support organizations include legal, procurement, security, finance, export control, human resources, public affairs, international affairs, property, facilities, environmental, IT security, and others. They provide essential expertise and ensure compliance with relevant laws, treaties, executive orders, and regulations.

3.2.3 The program and project manager establish periodic status reporting processes and mechanisms. Project thresholds are established for cost and schedule, which if exceeded, the project manager will provide immediate written notice to the program manager. These thresholds are documented in the project plan.

3.3 Process for Handling Dissenting Opinions

3.3.1 NASA teams must have full and open discussions with all facts made available in order to understand and assess issues. Diverse views are to be fostered and respected in an environment of integrity and trust with no suppression or retribution.

3.3.2 Unresolved issues of any nature (e.g., programmatic, safety, engineering, acquisition, accounting, etc.) within teams should be quickly elevated to achieve resolution at the appropriate level. At the discretion of the dissenting person(s), a decision may be appealed to the next higher level of management for resolution.

3.3.3 When appropriate, the concern is documented by including agreed-to facts, discussion of the differing positions with rationale and impacts and the parties' recommendations, approved by the representative of each view, concurred on by affected parties, and provided to program/project management with notification to the second higher level of management. In cases of urgency, an oral presentation (including the information stated above) with all affected organizations in attendance and with advance notification to the second higher level of management may be utilized with documentation followup.

3.3.4 Management's decision/action on the memorandum (or oral presentation) is documented and provided to the dissenter and to the notified managers and becomes part of the program/project record. If the dissenter is not satisfied with the process or outcome, the dissenter may appeal to the next higher level of management. The dissenter has the right to take the issue upward in the organization, even to the NASA Administrator, if necessary.

3.4 Information Technology Authority

3.4.1 NPD 1000.0, describes Mission Support Authorities as the designated "official voices" of their institutional areas and the associated requirements established by NASA policy, law, or other external mandate. These authorities are asserted through leadership, horizontally (across Headquarters) and vertically (Headquarters to Centers, and within Centers). The NASA CIO exercises Mission Support Authority for IT, and is the "IT Authority." The corresponding process is designated as IT authority (where "authority" is not capitalized, to distinguish between the process and the person exercising the authority).

3.4.2 The need for IT authority stems from the inclusion and importance of IT in almost all Agency programs and projects. The scope of IT authority includes all IT with the exception of software engineering. The Office of the Chief Engineer establishes policy and technical standards for software engineering and has included software engineering in its engineering technical authority process. The Office of Safety and Mission Assurance establishes the policy and technical standards for software safety and software assurance.

3.4.3 The requirements levied by this document on IT programs and projects in its scope constitute the exercise of IT authority in the area of program and project management. Additional aspects of IT authority will be included in NPR 2800.1, Managing Information Technology.

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