# NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 SA-15(3) — Criticality Analysis - Source: https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/sa-15-3-criticality-analysis - Section: [Compliance](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance) › [NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 Controls](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5) › SA — System and Services Acquisition - Last updated: 2026-06-05 - Publisher: iCompaas, Inc. (https://www.icompaas.com) **NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5**·Control `SA-15(3)`·high·Component: **System and Services Acquisition** ## What this control requires > Require developers to perform criticality analysis at organization-defined decision points in the system development life cycle and with specified rigor. This analysis informs organizational assessments, especially for high-value assets and supply chain risk. This control supports the Developer-Informed Criticality Assessment Protocol capability within the System and Services Acquisition family. > > — NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5, Control SA-15(3) ### In plain English Require developers to perform criticality analysis at organization-defined decision points in the system development life cycle and with specified rigor. In practice, this means you can prove you policy management-level controls on a defined cadence. ## Why it matters SP 800-53 is the catalogue every U.S. federal authorisation (FedRAMP, FISMA, CMMC) and most regulated industries point at. A missing control surfaces as a Plan of Action & Milestones (POA&M) item that an Authorizing Official must approve before the Authority To Operate is granted or renewed. This control is rated **high**. Auditors expect a named owner, a remediation SLA, and a tooling artefact that evidences continuous operation. ## What an auditor looks for A 3PAO (FedRAMP) or Independent Assessor (NIST RMF) tests against NIST SP 800-53A assessment procedures. For each control they expect a documented implementation that addresses every assessment objective (Examine, Interview, Test) and an implementation summary in the System Security Plan. Within **System and Services Acquisition**, the assessor will trace your implementation back to the catalogue reference (Control SA-15(3)) and look for objective evidence on the latest two assessment cycles. ## How to implement #### Policy Management **Docs.** Keep each policy in version-controlled Markdown alongside the code that implements it; ship a signed PDF snapshot at each annual review and link the SHA into the SoA. #### Secure Development **Pipeline.** Require code review, SAST (Semgrep / Snyk Code), SCA (Dependabot / Renovate), secret-scanning and IaC scanning in the merge pipeline. **Branch protection.** Protected branches enforce reviews, signed commits and passing CI before merge; document the protection rules as the control evidence. ### Operational checklist - **Policy.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Security.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Chain.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **System.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Control.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Scope:** management, organization, system, analysis, assessments, assessment, services, capability. ## Evidence to collect - **Policy Document.** A signed and version-controlled policy / standard / procedure document. Signed policy or standard documents the safeguard. Focus: Criticality Analysis. ## Common pitfalls - Policies that no engineer has read; the version in Confluence drifts from the version that's actually being enforced. - CI security checks set to warn-only; the merge button is faster than the security feedback. ## How it maps to other frameworks Computed from shared tags, control component and key-operation subjects — handy when you are reconciling controls across an audit. - [**ISO/IEC 27001:2022 A.8.29** — Security testing in development and acceptance](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022/a-8-29-security-testing-in-development-and-acceptance) - [**NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 3 3.17.3** — Supply Chain Requirements and Processes](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-171-rev-3/3-17-3-supply-chain-requirements-and-processes) ## Related controls in NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 - [**Control SA-8(31)** — Secure System Modification](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/sa-8-31-secure-system-modification) - [**Control PM-30** — Supply Chain Risk Management Strategy](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/pm-30-supply-chain-risk-management-strategy) - [**Control SA-8(30)** — Procedural Rigor](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/sa-8-30-procedural-rigor) - [**Control SA-11(3)** — Independent Verification Of Assessment Plans And Evidence](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/sa-11-3-independent-verification-of-assessment-plans-and-evidence) - [**Control SA-12(12)** — Inter-Organizational Agreements](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/sa-12-12-inter-organizational-agreements) - [**Control SA-12(15)** — Processes To Address Weaknesses Or Deficiencies](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/sa-12-15-processes-to-address-weaknesses-or-deficiencies) ## References - [NIST Computer Security Resource Center — NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5](https://csrc.nist.gov/Projects/risk-management/sp800-53-controls) - Catalogue identifier: `Control SA-15(3)` Topics: governance riskpolicy managementsecure developmentsupply chain security ## Related compliance guidance - [NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5: a practical implementation guide for cloud teams](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5): Start with the full NIST SP 800-53 implementation guide — scope, roadmap, evidence and how the assessment runs. - [NIST SP 800-171 and CMMC: a practical guide to protecting CUI in the cloud](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-171-rev-3): If your obligation is protecting CUI in your own systems for a federal or defence contract, this derived subset — not the full catalogue — is the requirement. - [SOC 2 compliance: a practical implementation guide for cloud-native SaaS teams](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria): Most commercial SaaS already hold a SOC 2 Type 2, and FedRAMP 20x Class A is designed for providers that have one.