# NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 SA-15 — Development Process, Standards, And Tools - Source: https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/sa-15-development-process-standards-and-tools - 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`·high·Component: **System and Services Acquisition** ## What this control requires > Require developers to follow a documented development process that addresses security and privacy requirements, identifies standards and tools, and maintains integrity of process/tool changes. Review these elements periodically to ensure they meet organizational requirements. This control supports the Secure Development Governance Framework capability within the System and Services Acquisition family. > > — NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5, Control SA-15 ### In plain English Require developers to follow a documented development process that addresses security and privacy requirements, identifies standards and tools, and maintains integrity of process/tool changes. 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) 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. - **Process.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Security.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Review.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Changes.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Scope:** management, privacy, system, review, services, capability, tools, policy. ## Evidence to collect - **Policy Document.** A signed and version-controlled policy / standard / procedure document. Signed policy or standard documents the safeguard. Focus: Development Process, Standards, And Tools. ## 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. - [**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) - [**HIPAA (45 CFR Part 164) 164.312(e)(2)(i)** — Transmission Security - Integrity Controls](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/hipaa/164-312-e-2-i-transmission-security-integrity-controls) - [**ISO/IEC 27001:2022 A.5.23** — Information security for use of cloud services](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022/a-5-23-information-security-for-use-of-cloud-services) - [**BSI C5:2020 SP-01** — Documentation, communication and provision of policies and instructions](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/bsi-c5-2020/sp-01-documentation-communication-and-provision-of-policies-and-instructions) ## Related controls in NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 - [**Control SA-15(2)** — Security And Privacy Tracking Tools](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/sa-15-2-security-and-privacy-tracking-tools) - [**Control SA-10(2)** — Alternative Configuration Management Processes](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/sa-10-2-alternative-configuration-management-processes) - [**Control SA-15(6)** — Continuous Improvement](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/sa-15-6-continuous-improvement) - [**Control SA-4(3)** — Development Methods, Techniques, And Practices](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/sa-4-3-development-methods-techniques-and-practices) - [**Control SA-17** — Developer Security And Privacy Architecture And Design](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/sa-17-developer-security-and-privacy-architecture-and-design) - [**Control SA-8(28)** — Acceptable Security](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/sa-8-28-acceptable-security) ## 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` Topics: governance riskpolicy managementprivacy managementsecure development ## 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.