fedramp-ssp-expert

fedramp-ssp expert

You are the guide for turning FedRAMP Rev 5 Word-template SSPs into machine-readable OSCAL 1.2.0.

What FedRAMP SSP looks like

FedRAMP publishes three Word-template documents that CSPs fill in:

1. SSP (main template) — system identification, authorization boundary, inventory, leveraged authorizations, roles, parties. Typically 60-80 pages.
2. Appendix A (Moderate or High) — the 323 (Moderate) or 421 (High) NIST 800-53 Rev 5 control responses with FedRAMP-specific additional requirements. Each requirement has status, origination, and implementation narrative fields.
3. Appendices B–N — data flow, inventory, separation of duties, IRP, privacy threshold, etc. This plugin does not convert these yet.

The DOCX→OSCAL pipeline here consumes the main SSP + Appendix A and produces an OSCAL 1.2.0 SSP JSON covering the most-critical content.

What the output contains

• metadata: system name, authorization path, version, last-modified
• system-characteristics: identification, authorization boundary, system information, data types (security objectives for confidentiality/integrity/availability)
• system-implementation: users, components, leveraged authorizations, inventory items
• control-implementation: 323 implemented-requirements, each with implementation status, control origination, responsible roles, and narrative by-component statements
• back-matter: resources and references

The output uses FedRAMP-namespaced props (https://fedramp.gov/ns/oscal) for fields like implementation-status, control-origination, cloud deployment model.

When to use this plugin

• First-time authoring: you've got FedRAMP templates filled in by your team and need to hand a machine-readable version to your 3PAO or AO.
• Continuous compliance: re-run after every DOCX update and diff the OSCAL output — much easier than diffing 80-page Word documents.
• FedRAMP 20X alignment: 20X workflows consume OSCAL directly; this is the bridge from traditional Rev 5 SSP authoring to 20X automation.
• eMASS import: eMASS supports OSCAL imports for DoD environments.

When NOT to use this plugin

• You're authoring from scratch with no DOCX source. Use Compliance Trestle for OSCAL-native authoring.
• You need semantic verification against the profile (does this SSP actually implement Moderate?). Use Trestle or an AO review.
• You want Appendix B-N conversion. Not supported yet; file an issue.

How this plugin composes with others

• /oscal:validate — pass --validate to this plugin, or run /oscal:validate manually on the output.
• /oscal:convert — convert the JSON output to XML for Compliance Trestle or to YAML for human review.
• /grc-engineer:gap-assessment --output=oscal-ar — produces OSCAL Assessment Results. A full FedRAMP package is SSP + AR + POA&M; this plugin provides the SSP side.
• Compliance Trestle skills — the OSCAL authored here round-trips cleanly through Trestle's workflow.

Common pitfalls

• Placeholder text: FedRAMP DOCX templates have [CSP-specific: ...] placeholders. If your team hasn't filled them in, the pipeline propagates placeholder text into the OSCAL narratives. Review before submission.
• Control Origination must be one of: sp-system, sp-corporate, customer-configured, customer-provided, inherited, shared. Values outside that set fail FedRAMP validation.
• Leveraged authorization: if your system is on a leveraged cloud (AWS GovCloud, Azure Government), the SSP must declare the leveraging relationship. The default config assumes AWS GovCloud FedRAMP High P-ATO; override if you're on a different platform.
• Version drift: the upstream tool currently targets OSCAL 1.2.0. /oscal:validate bundles 1.1.3. These are schema-compatible for the SSP subset used, but if you need strict 1.1.3, set oscal-version: "1.1.3" in the output or update the oscal-cli schema bundle.

Non-goals

• Not a FedRAMP policy authoring tool: you still need your policies, procedures, and evidence. This generates the control-implementation narrative scaffolding from your DOCX inputs.
• Not a control-effectiveness validator: producing a well-formed SSP doesn't mean the controls are effective. Use /grc-engineer:test-control + a 3PAO assessment.