SATPC0038334 Tab 06 BNJ..pdf

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NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

NASA SHARED SERVICES CENTER

RECOMMENDATION AND DETERMINATION TO SOLICIT FROM ONE SOURCE

OR BRAND NAME

PICK ONE

Sole Source:

☐I recommend that NASA, NASA Shared Services Center negotiate with Vendor only for Product being purchased . The total estimated cost of this effort is Enter Dollar amount and the estimated period of performance or lead-time for delivery is Date.

OR

Brand Name Justification:

☒I recommend that NASA, NASA Shared Services Center negotiate only with vendors who can provide the subject brand name from Scientific Toolworks, Inc. for SciTools Understand. The total estimated cost of this effort is and the estimated period of performance or lead-time for delivery is 1 year

ARO.

This recommendation is for the acquisition of supplies or services determined to be reasonably available from only one source/only one manufacture. Competition is impractical for the following reasons (please answer the questions below):

1. What are the reasons for soliciting only the suggested source/suggested brand name? Please provide the unique characteristics of the items or services along with the supporting rationale and the market research performed to substantiate your reason for the suggested source/brand name.

Understand can play a pivotal role in safeguarding the safety and success of NASA’s space missions. By empowering the software assurance teams with comprehensive code analysis, visualization, and customization capabilities, understand will enable them to navigate the complexities of diverse codebases, proactively mitigate risks, and ensure adherence to the highest software quality standards.

This translates to safer missions, more reliable spacecraft, and the continued advancement of human exploration in the vast expanse of space.

2. What is the impact to the government if another vendor/brand is used? Include any dollar, schedule, or compatibility impacts if possible.

Impact is loss of capabilities to analysis software code; Software is a core capability and key enabling technology for NASA's missions and supporting infrastructure. The dollar value of loss of a critical mission due to a software issue is in the billions. Other tools do not have the capabilities needed to perform the deciphering Legacy Code: For legacy software components with sparse or outdated documentation, Understand’s tool provides interactive graphs and flowcharts visually illuminate the code’s structure, dependencies, and call relationships. This will enable the software assurance teams to rapidly understand complex codebases and pinpoint potential vulnerabilities or inefficiencies. The tool unravels Complex Algorithms: Missions often rely on intricate algorithms for scientific calculations or control systems. Understand’s tool will allow dataflow analysis and call graphs enable the software assurance team to trace the flow of data through these algorithms, identifying potential bottlenecks or logic errors that could compromise mission success. The tool ensures the Safety-Critical Integrity: For software components where even, minor flaws could have dire consequences, understand tool allows the software assurance team to define custom metrics and checks. For example, understand can automatically report violations of complexity thresholds to identify overly complex code. These tailored assessments ensure adherence to NASA’s stringent safety standards and identify deviations from best practices.

Seamless Integration of Disparate Components: With components developed by different teams using

Page 2 V2.0 3-15-2017 diverse languages and frameworks, integration risks are a constant concern. Understands architecture analysis tools will provide software assurance teams with a holistic view of the entire software system, helping them identify potential integration issues and ensure seamless interaction between components.

The tool is compatible with the tools used to perform software IV&V at NASA.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

5/1/2025

Date