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NASA
Policy
Directive
NPD 8070.6B
Effective Date: May 07, 2003
Expiration Date: May 07, 2008
COMPLIANCE IS MANDATORY
Printable Format (PDF)
Subject: Technical Standards
Responsible Office: Office of the Chief Engineer
1. POLICY
This NPD establishes NASA policy and organizational responsibilities for the development, management, and use of
technical standards and associated products (specifications, guidelines, and handbooks) on NASA programs,
projects, and functional activities. NASA policy is as follows:
a. Use proven technical standards, as defined in OMB Circular A-119, on NASA programs, projects, and functional
activities to provide an effective basis for defining requirements, evaluating proposed approaches, assessing
resulting performance, and ensuring quality throughout the system life cycle.
b. Encourage the use of common technical standards across NASA to promote excellence and consistency in
practice, increase potential use of commercial items, reduce program/project costs, simplify interfaces, and improve
interoperability in cooperative efforts.
c. Prefer use of performance (outcome-based) standards in procurement activities over design or process
(method-based) standards. Performance standards must, however, provide the level of detail required to ensure
compatibility of form/fit/function and to meet needs for comparability of essential information, such as interfaces and
test results.
d. Select and tailor (i.e., adapt) and specify standards required to meet defined application needs to avoid
overspecification or imposition of inappropriate requirements. Tailoring shall be documented to maintain traceability
to the original standard, and the level of authority for approval of tailoring shall be appropriate to the level of
application risk. For programs and projects, tailoring shall be done during the program implementation process
described in NPR 7120.5.
e. Ensure use of best practices in NASA activities through the following: selecting current versions of technical
standards to establish requirements; reviewing lessons learned associated with selected standards; registering
selected standards for notification of updates; periodically reviewing selected standards to assess the impact of
revisions; and adopting current revisions except where impractical or incompatible with requirements.
f. Support the development of, formally adopt, and use domestic and international voluntary consensus standards,
as defined and required by Public Law 104-113 and by OMB Circular A-119, in preference to Government standards
to accomplish NASA's mission wherever practical, technically appropriate, and consistent with laws and regulations.
Use of voluntary consensus standards is not required where they would demonstrably fail to serve NASA's program
needs.
g. Establish and maintain NASA Technical Standards in those areas where standards available from other sources
are not adequate to meet NASA's technical and management requirements.
h. Review each NASA-developed Technical Standard at least once every 5 years to determine if it (i) is still needed,
(ii) needs to be revised or updated, and (iii) can be replaced by a voluntary consensus standard. Standards that are
no longer needed or can immediately be replaced by a voluntary consensus standard shall be cancelled.
i. Evaluate NASA Technical Standards for potential conversion to voluntary consensus during the periodic review in
section h. above and plan for replacement of those standards. Support conversion except where the need for the
standard is unique to NASA.
2. APPLICABILITY
This NPD is applicable to NASA Headquarters and NASA Centers, including Component Facilities, in the
