National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent Verification & Validation Program

New Employee Briefing

Where talented professionals make “tremendous technical and scientific accomplishments”;

Where “humans can achieve previously inconceivable feats”;

Where we are “humbled by the realization that Earth is just a tiny ‘blue marble’ in the cosmos”.

http://history.nasa.gov/

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In 2011, NASA was voted the fifth best place to work among Federal agencies, based on responses from more than 266,000 employees.

Image above: The Best Places to Work in the Federal Government - 2011 Rankings. Image credit: Partnership for Public Service.

Welcome to NASA’s Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) Program and to the NASA IV&V family. Serving a vision and mission far greater than ourselves on behalf of our Agency and the people of this Nation is a privilege we are pleased to share with you.

While you take advantage of the orientation package that has been prepared for you, please take the time to introduce yourself to your new colleagues. You will find them interested in your work and interested in telling you about their own. I am confident that you will soon be made to feel at home by those you meet upon your arrival at IV&V and quickly become part of our family. Whether you join our team as a civil servant or as a contractor, please introduce yourself to me and feel free to ask the members of my administrative team for information, guidance or support. My personal goal, and that of our entire NASA family, is to ensure that you confidently find your place among us so that you can begin your work on behalf of IV&V and NASA.

Again, welcome to IV&V and to the NASA family.

Sincerely,

Greg BlaneyIV&V Director and Program Manager

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Vision:Be a world leader in systems and software engineering that enables our customers’ success.

Mission:To provide our customers assurance that their safety and mission-critical software will operate reliably and safely and to advance the systems and software engineering disciplines. In doing so, we work to standards of excellence, provide professional engineers, provide national and global leadership, focus on customer satisfaction, and adhere to and demonstrate our core set of values: safety, integrity, respect, teamwork, balance, innovation, and excellence.

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InnovationWe cultivate creativity and seek knowledge that will strengthen our team and ourselves.  We recognize innovation as a way to energize our motivation and performance, leading to a sense of pride and personal accomplishment.

Safety We consider protecting ourselves and others from unnecessary harm as a cornerstone to success. We are committed, individually and as a team, to protecting the safety and health of the public, our team members, and those assets that the Nation entrusts to the Agency. With safety first, our commitment to all other values can be achieved.

Respect We respect ourselves and each other, appreciating the creativity and broader perspective of a diverse team.  This diversity is vital to our success.

Integrity Our success is built on an environment of trust and ethical behavior.  We exhibit sincerity and truthfulness in all actions.

BalanceWe believe in the importance of meaningful daily achievement and enjoyment in each of our four life quadrants: Work, Family, Friends, and Self.

Teamwork We understand and believe that thinking, planning, decision-making and actions are better when done cooperatively. We recognize, and even assimilate, the belief that "none of us is as good as all of us."  We recognize that our function exists to serve the bigger picture.

ExcellenceWe consistently look for ways to improve ourselves and our organization by promoting continual growth, learning and diversity of experience.  We believe in providing high quality services that bring long term valueto our customers.

Overview of NASA and the IV&V Program IV&V Program Organizational Structure Important Employee Resources The IV&V Family

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1958 NASA founded by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, partially in response to the launch of the first artificial satellite the previous year by the Soviets.

1969 Humans stepped foot on the moon on July 20th, 1969, as a result of John F. Kennedy’s challenge to NASA.

1981 The Space Shuttle was launched for the first time – one of over 120 launches.

2004 The first of NASA's twin Mars Exploration Rovers hurtled through the martian atmosphere for a flawless landing on the red planet.

Throughout its history, NASA has conducted or funded research that has led to numerous improvements to life here on Earth.

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1986 Challenger Accident

1991 Grant provided to WVU to build IV&V Facility; assigned to HQ-OSMA

1994 Space Station Program implements IV&V through Facility

1996 Facility transitioned to Ames Research Center; focus was research

1996 Facility Omnibus contract: enabled IV&V across all NASA Projects

1999 Senior Management Council: IV&V mandate for all NASA software

2000 Facility transitioned to Goddard Space Flight Center; focus was applied

2003 NASA Executive Council makes IV&V an Agency OSMA Program

Today the NASA IV&V Program continues providing assurance to NASA missions.

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The IV&V Program’s technical work is directed by the Office of Safety and Mission Assurance (OSMA); however, the Program’s administrative functions are handled through Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC).

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IV&V

Office of the Director

Deputy DirectorAssociate Director

Strategic Communications

OfficeIV&V Office

SMA Support Office

Program Support Office

STEM Initiatives

Software Assurance

Tools

Technical Quality &

Excellence

Capabilities Development

IV&V Projects

Operations &

Maintenance

Information Technology

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Program Finance

Management

Knowledge Management Leadership

Director – Greg Blaney

Deputy Director – Ken Vorndran

Associate Director – Marcus Fisher

Program Finance Management Lead – Kaci Reynolds

Strategic Communications Office Lead – Jeffrey Northey

IV&V Office Lead – Steve Raque

SMA Support Office Lead – Wes Deadrick

Program Support Office Lead – Donna Ozburn

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Responsible for the overall management of the IV&V Program & Facility.

Manages customer/stakeholder relations, Technical Advisory Board, Administration,IT Governance (EA Board), Program financial management, Strategic Planning, International Partnerships, etc.

It is comprised of the Director, Deputy Director, Associate Director and supporting administrative staff.

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Responsible for the external communications, knowledge management (KM), marketing and development of the IV&V Program; ensures appropriate local community relationships. SCO customers include coworkers, NASA, the public, students, educators, and local businesses.

Manages the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Initiatives group. The STEM initiatives group leads the development of an overall NASA education presence in WV and supports NASA education efforts in the areas of STEM. The Educational Resource Center (ERC) serves as a tool to enhance the professional development of educators. On average, we work with over 5000 students and 1300 educators each year.

KM activities ensure consistency and adherence to agency requirements at the Program level. Additional KM responsibilities include: risk management, success stories & lessons learned, metrics, value, records management and IV&V Management System activities such as ISO documentation & audits.

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Highlighted below are only a few examples of events coordinated through STEM Initiatives. Staff are commonly asked to volunteer to assist with these events. Watch for invitations via e-mail. Please obtain your supervisor’s permission prior to volunteering.

Day in the Park takes place every fall, hundreds of 7th graders from local schools attend this event put on by IV&V Educational Outreach. The day consists of activities, exhibits, experiments, and guest speakers, such as WV astronaut Jon McBride. The goal of this event is to raise awareness and get kids excited about science, technology, engineering and math. Inspiring the Next Generation (ING) Day, usually in

April, is a day set aside for employees’ children between the ages of 8 and 12 to come to work with their parents and see first-hand what it is like to work for NASA.

Careers in the Corridor occurs near the end of Fall, 10th graders from several of the local county schools attend this event put on by IV&V Educational Outreach.

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Once you have obtained approval from your supervisor, please contact Jess White (jeffrey.r.northey@nasa.gov) to volunteer.

Develops, implements, and improves the IV&V activities performed by the Program and seeks out opportunities for new business

Comprised of an IV&V group, Capabilities

Development group, Software Assurance Tools group and Technical Quality & Excellence group

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The IV&V Projects Group is responsible for applying IV&V activities on NASA projects. IV&V provides both the Project and developer with insight into the status and risks associated with the development of mission critical system software.

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The Capabilities Development Group explores and innovates solutions for advancing the processes used in performing IV&V.

The Software Assurance Tools Group maintains, integrates, and trains the use of software engineering tools for IV&V.

The Technical Quality & Excellence Group ensures quality and consistency across the IV&V program.

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Software Independent Verification & Validation is a systems-engineering process employing rigorous methodologies for evaluating the correctness and quality of the software products throughout the development life cycle. Software IV&V is adapted and tailored to the characteristics of the project.

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Verification answers the question:

Are we building the product right?

◦ The process of determining whether or not the products of a given phase of the software development life cycle fulfill the requirements established during the previous phase.

◦ The process of determining if the product is internally complete, consistent and correct, and if it will support the next phase of development.

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Validation answers the question:

Are we building the right product?

◦ The process of evaluating software throughout its development process to ensure compliance with software requirements. This process ensures

◦ Expected behavior when subjected to anticipated events ◦ No unexpected behavior when subjected to unanticipated

events ◦ System performs to the customer’s expectations under

all operational conditions

Independence in IV&V, as defined by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), has three parameters:

◦ Technical independence: IV&V practitioners use their expertise to assess development processes and products independent of the developer.

◦ Managerial independence: The IV&V effort independently selects the segments of the software and system to analyze and test, chooses the IV&V techniques, defines the schedule of IV&V activities, and selects the specific technical issues and problems to act upon.

◦ Financial independence: The NASA IV&V Program is funded primarily from Corporate General & Administrative (Expense). Projects may directly fund services.

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The software/system development life cycle (SDLC) has phases which produce specific products. IV&V tailors its analysis based on the phase/product. Staying in step with the development life cycle provides for earlier recognition and resolution of issues, thus reducing the cost of rework and maximizing the benefits of IV&V to the project.

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REQUIREMENTS:…the functions

necessary to meet goals are

documented.

Based on the functions…

IMPLEMENTATION:

…code is written to satisfy the

functions and the architecture of the

system.

The code…

CONCEPT: System goals are

determined.

Based on the goals…

DESIGN: …the architecture

is designed to carry out the functions.

Based on the architecture…

TEST:…operates the

system, which is introduced into

the intended environment to be sure it operates as

intended.

The Projects currently served by the IV&V Program are from the Human Exploration and Operations (HEO) and Science Mission Directorates (SMD). Currently no projects from the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) are served by the IV&V Program.

Additionally, smaller scale efforts called Independent Assessments (IAs) may be performed on NASA or other projects.

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SSO manages software engineering services provided to the Agency in support of the other SMA organizations across the Agency.

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Provides support to the IV&V Program while ensuring compliance with Agency standards

Comprised of Operations & Maintenance (O&M) and Information Technology (IT)

O&M - provides and ensures a safe, comfortable, and well-equipped workplace

IT – provides your desktop technology, and support for phone network and computer system, also ensures distribution of information on the internet

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In addition to NASA, there are 2 other governmental tenants in the IV&V Facility, Building 1: the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Department of the Army.

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NOAA houses a supercomputer, used for predicting and tracking weather patterns - anything from showers to Category 5 hurricanes – in the IV&V Facility. Serving as a back-up system to the main computer in Gaithersburg, MD, this system is ranked among the top 10 weather predictor and research computers in the world, because of the amount of information stored on it.

Also stored in Building 1is the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS), which is an integrated suite of automated data-processing equipment that supports complex analysis, interactive processing, display of hydro meteorological data, and the rapid dissemination of warnings and forecasts in a highly reliable manner. This system is now being used at National Weather Service (NWS) Weather Forecast Offices, River Forecast Centers, and National Centers for Environmental Prediction to support our weather and hydrologic forecast and warning operations.

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The Army’s Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) supports multiple systems developed to serve immediate, critical needs driven by the global war on terrorism. The biometric systems capture, transmit, store, share, retrieve, exploit and display biometric data for timely identification or identity verification. These systems are mission enablers for force protection, intelligence, physical and logical control, identity management / credentialing, and interception operations.

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Someone’s phone number or location?

Safety information?

How to check-out a book from the technical library?

How to work your phone?

How to become familiar with IV&V policies and procedures?

How to book a conference room?

Where to find a System Level Procedure (SLP)?

How to submit an issue to PITS/ORBIT?

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Questions? Chances are the answer is here!

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The most up to date information regarding employee processing can be accessed from the IV&V Program’s website.

If you have questions, please contact the Identity Manager at Identity.Manager@ivv.nasa.gov

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System for Administration, Training, and Educational Resources (SATERN) - SATERN is NASA’s Learning Management System which offers Web-based access to training and career development resources.

The vision of the SATERN initiative is to create a premier e-Training environment that supports the development of the NASA workforce through simplified and one-stop access to high quality training products and processes to support learning and development.

SATERN is used for internal and external training opportunities. NASA also has certain SATERN training courses that are mandated for employees to complete. Therefore, it is imperative that you maintain a SATERN account. For a complete list of mandatory training, visit: http://ohcm.gsfc.nasa.gov/MandatoryTraining/TrainingList.htm#EMP

To login to SATERN go to: https://satern.nasa.gov/.

For more information on SATERN visit: https://saterninfo.nasa.gov/.

For SATERN assistance, contact the NSSC Contact Center at 877-NSSC-123

(877-677-2123) or send an e-mail to NASA-satern.support@nasa.gov.

Support hours are 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. ET Monday - Friday.

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Mazza’s Café, located on the 5th floor of Building 2, serves breakfast and lunch. Café hours are from 7:00 am to 2:00 pm, Monday through Friday.

Local restaurants (within 5 miles) Applebee’s www.applebees.com (304) 366-4411 *offers curbside pick up Mi Pueblo Mexican (304) 363-9355  DJ’s Diner (304) 366-8110 Cracker Barrel www.crackerbarrel.com (304) 363-2884 Grand China Buffet Bob Evans www.bobevans.com (304) 366-9735 Muriale’s www.murialesrestaurant.com  (304) 363-3190  Colasessno’s www.colasessanos.com   (304)-363-0571 Hank’s Deli (304) 368-3354 Dutchman’s Daughter (304) 367-1064 Many fast food chains are within only a few miles

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The NASA IV&V Family is a very giving group of people with fundraising and charitable events occurring year round. Since the IV&V Program is federally funded, all charitable initiatives are regulated by the Combined Federal Campaign. For more information, go to http://www.opm.gov/CFC/.

Past charity events have included: o CFC fundraising events in support of local charitieso School supply collectionso Food & toy collections

Christmas Auction- The Annual IV&V Christmas Party and Auction is one of the most anticipated fundraising events of the year. Every December, staff will donate new or used items for their peers to bid on while enjoying a fully catered meal. All proceeds are given to a local charity by way of the Combined Federal Campaign.

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The NASA IV&V Family is always ready for fun!

Past social events have included:

The Summer IV&V Picnic is open to all employees and their families. Generally held offsite in late summer/early fall, the picnic has included a catered meal and a variety of activities for adults and children such as softball, volleyball, horseshoes, dunking booth, water gun battles, swimming, karaoke, treasure hunts, tie-dying, etc.

The NASA IV&V Chili Cook-Off is a competition to make the best chili and the winner is recognized with their name on an official Chili Cook-Off plaque.

The IV&V Halloween Party consists of a costume contest with prizes and a pot luck luncheon.

The IV&V Golf Tournament is held at Tygart Lake Golf Course on a Friday in July. A portion of the proceeds in the past have gone to charities, such as Scott’s Run Settlement House and the American Cancer Society. If you are interested in participating, please contact Steve Pukansky.

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Past health and wellness activities have included:

Blood drives and flu vaccinations

Weight Watchers at Work on Tuesdays at noon.

Gyms in Fairmont Area:

o Healthplex healthplex.fghi.com (304) 368-5200

o Fitnetics fitneticsgym.com (304) 366-4362

o Spadafore’s Gym (304) 363-9000

o Fairmont Fitness (304) 363-1962

Vending Machines

RefrigeratorPlease Note: The refrigerator is cleaned out on Fridays. Do not leave food or it will

be tossed.

Microwaves

Ice Machine

Coffee ClubIf you would like to become a member of the Coffee Club, contact Steve Pukansky

for more details. Coffee Club members pay $7.50 per month for unlimited coffee.

Non-members must pay 50 cents per cup.

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42Last updated 02-11-2013