Reference patterns from the work

These patterns come from the compliance work behind a FedRAMP authorization or a NIST 800-171 posture, written so a technical evaluator can judge the approach before a consultation.

Compliance patterns

How TRGR structures the artifacts behind a FedRAMP authorization or a NIST 800-171 posture.

  • OSCAL package pattern

    How TRGR structures a machine-readable authorization package in OSCAL, so the control implementations, the components, and the open items live as linked data an assessor's tooling can read directly.

    Profile and baseline
    The profile that tailors a control catalog to the system's impact level. The package starts from the exact set of controls in scope, not a generic list.
    System Security Plan model
    The SSP expressed as OSCAL: the system description, the boundary, and the responsible parties as structured fields rather than prose in a Word file.
    Control-implementation statements
    One statement per control, describing how the control is met and pointing at the component responsible, so each control traces to the part of the system that satisfies it.
    Component definitions
    Reusable descriptions of each part of the system, a service or a managed AWS service, and the controls it satisfies. A control implemented once is referenced everywhere it applies.
    Open findings as linked data
    Open items tracked as records linked to the control and component they concern, so remediation status is queryable rather than buried in a spreadsheet.
    Validation against the model
    The package checked against the OSCAL schema and the selected baseline before it reaches an assessor, so structural errors are caught by tooling, not by a reviewer.
    What it demonstrates

    The SSP, the implementation statements, the component definitions, and the open findings live as connected OSCAL an assessor's tooling reads directly.

  • Control-mapping crosswalk

    How TRGR maps a single control implementation across NIST 800-53, NIST 800-171, and CMMC, so one piece of evidence answers the equivalent requirement in each framework and the same work is not repeated three times.

    The 800-53 control
    The source control at the system's impact level, the authoritative statement of what has to be satisfied.
    The 800-171 requirement
    The requirement for controlled unclassified information, traced back to the 800-53 control it derives from.
    The CMMC Level 2 practice
    The practice that carries the same 800-171 requirement into a CMMC Level 2 assessment, so a single implementation answers the equivalent practice.
    The shared evidence artifact
    The single piece of live configuration or system state that answers all three, collected once and referenced by each framework rather than gathered separately for each.
    What it demonstrates

    It shows the crosswalk between an 800-53 control, the 800-171 requirement derived from it, and the CMMC Level 2 practice that carries it, so overlapping requirements are satisfied once and the evidence is reused across every framework it appears in.

  • Authorization-boundary blueprint

    How TRGR draws an authorization boundary in AWS GovCloud: what sits inside the boundary, what is an external service the system relies on, and where data crosses the line between them.

    In-boundary components
    The services and data stores that handle federal data and sit inside the authorization boundary, named and accounted for.
    External services
    The managed and third-party services the system relies on but does not authorize itself, each recorded with the inheritance or agreement that covers it.
    Data-flow crossings
    Each point where data enters or leaves the boundary, with the protocol and the protection on that path.
    The GovCloud environment
    The AWS GovCloud account structure the boundary is drawn inside, kept separate from any commercial environment.
    Evidence per crossing
    The configuration or control record that proves each crossing is protected, tied back to the control it satisfies.
    What it demonstrates

    The boundary is drawn around exactly the components that handle federal data, every crossing documented and evidenced, so an assessor can see what was authorized and what was inherited.

Reference · TRGR