NASA Procedural Requirements

NPR 1400.1H Effective Date: March 29, 2019 Expiration Date: December 31, 2024

Subject: NASA Directives and Charters Procedural Requirements (Updated w/Change 10)

Responsible Office: Office of the Chief of Staff

Appendix D. Relationship between NASA Directives and Other NASA Documents

D.1 NASA directives work in conjunction with other NASA documents, such as plans, manuals, NASA Technical Standards, work instructions, Information Technology (IT) documents, and other policy documents. NASA directives provide the overarching requirements which serve as the framework for lower-level NASA internal organizational and task requirements.

D.1.1 Relationship between NASA Directives and Plans

D.1.1.1 Planning documents, such as Mission Directorate implementation plans, the Mission Support Implementation Plan, and the Human Capital Plan (described in NPD 1000.0, Strategic Management and Governance Handbook), and program/project plans typically describe activities focused in a discrete area. Directives establish the master requirements applicable to all entities across NASA, while plans describe goals, objectives, and requirements applicable to very specifically defined elements of NASA.

D.1.1.2 Plans are typically developed, approved, and controlled outside of the NASA Directives System, except as follows:

a. NASA Plans (i.e., NASA Strategic Plan (NPD 1001.0), Continuity of Operations Plan, Emergency Preparedness Plan, Safety, Health, Environmental Plan, etc.), derived by law, have Agency-level and Center-specific applicability and are controlled in the NASA Directives System.

b. Plans with discrete functional or programmatic applicability (i.e., Implementation Plans, Program and Project Plans, Software Engineering Improvement Plan(s), and Software Training Plan(s)) are controlled at the appropriate organizational level by the respective responsible NASA Official.

D.1.2 Relationship between NASA Directives and Manuals

D.1.2.1 Manuals typically identify process requirements for employees within a single work unit or functional area.

D.1.2.2 Manuals may supplement NASA directives and provide more instruction about how the provisions of those directives are carried out within the work unit or functional area. Manuals may also provide supplemental information about acceptable methods for implementing requirements, including lessons learned, suggested practices, instructions, and suggested performance measures. Manuals typically are written to a greater level of detail than NASA directives.

D.1.2.3 Manuals are typically developed, approved, and controlled outside of the NASA Directives System.

D.1.2.4 Manuals that implement NASA directives are typically hyperlinked to their associated NASA directives.

D.1.3 Relationship between Directives and NASA Technical Standards

D.1.3.1 NASA Technical Standards may be applied to programs/projects executed internally or under contract. Tailoring of these standards is a program/project responsibility and is to be approved by the governing Technical Authority.

D.1.3.2 NASA Technical Standards may also be referenced as guidance on acceptable methods for meeting requirements of NASA directives, lessons learned, and recommended practices.

D.1.3.3 NASA Technical Standards are developed, approved, and controlled by NPR 7120.10, Technical Standards for NASA Programs and Projects, rather than by this directive (NPR 1400.1).

D.1.4 Relationship between Directives and Work Instructions

D.1.4.1 Work instructions typically document the instructional requirements applied to an individual organization that define the processes used to deliver products or services to customers or to meet the organization’s mission requirements.

D.1.4.2 Work instructions represent the translation of the Agency’s strategic requirements and NASA directives down to a level of detailed application to individual employees or work groups.

D.1.4.3 Work instructions are typically developed, approved, and controlled outside of the NASA Directives System. Typically, the requirements for work instructions fall under the scope of the NASA Management System. These documents may be included in the directives system’s documentation libraries. Refer to NPD 1280.1 for additional information.

D.1.5 Relationship between Directives and Other Policy Documents (i.e., NASA Policy Statements (NPS), NASA Policy Instructions (NPI), and NASA Advisory Implementing Instructions (NAII))

D.1.5.1 NPSs are statements that reiterate the Agency’s commitment to its defined course or method of action for adhering to external requirements.

D.1.5.2 NPIs are instructions that describe how to perform a definite course or method of action that guide and determine present and future decisions.

D.1.5.3 NAIIs are Agency-level documents that consolidate sets of principles, guidance, and instructions applicable to a particular activity. An NAII should be used when the procedural requirements for conducting the activity are not specified at an Agency level (such as through an NPR), but there are principles, guidance, and instructions that are considered when developing processes at the Center or organization level. An NAII is also used to provide direction relating to the implementation of responsibilities under NPDs or NPRs.

D.1.6 Relationship between Directives and NASA Information Technology Documents (i.e., IT Handbooks, IT Security Handbooks, IT Standard Operating Procedures, and NASA IT Requirements). These documents are developed, approved, and controlled by OCIO and are sometimes referenced in NASA directives that describe IT requirements.

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This document does not bind the public, except as authorized by law or as incorporated into a contract. This document is uncontrolled when printed. Check the NASA Online Directives Information System (NODIS) Library to verify that this is the correct version before use: https://nodis3.gsfc.nasa.gov.