Purpose

This NASA Procedural Requirements (NPR) document provides the requirements for risk management for the Agency, its institutions, and its programs and projects as required by NASA Policy Directive (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 (RIDM) and Continuous Risk Management (CRM).

This NPR establishes requirements applicable to all levels of the Agency. It provides a framework that integrates the RIDM and CRM processes at all levels. This NPR also establishes the roles, responsibilities, and authority to execute the defined requirements Agency wide. It builds on the principle that program and project requirements should be directly coupled to Agency strategic goals and applies this principle to risk management processes within all Agency organizations at a level of rigor that is commensurate with the stakes and complexity of the decision situation that is being addressed.

The implementation of these requirements leads to a risk management approach that is coherent across the Agency and achieves appropriate coverage of risks (including cross-cutting risks) within NASA. "Coherent" means that (a) Agency strategic goals explicitly drive RIDM and, therefore, CRM, at all levels, (b) all risk types are considered collectively during decision making, and (c) risk management activities are coordinated horizontally and vertically, across and within programs, projects, and institutions.

This NPR contains requirements for risk management. Detailed explanations and descriptions will be provided in associated procedural handbooks.

Applicability

This NPR applies to all Agency activities, including:

NASA Headquarters and NASA Centers, including Component Facilities and Institutional/ Mission Support Offices, and to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and other contractors to the extent specified in their respective contracts.

New and existing programs and projects that provide aeronautics and space products or capabilities; i.e., flight and ground systems, technologies, and operations for aeronautics and space.