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VA Technical Reference Model v 24.11

Hierarchical Linear and Nonlinear Modeling (HLM)

General Information

Technologies must be operated and maintained in accordance with Federal and Department security and privacy policies and guidelines. More information on the proper use of the TRM can be found on the TRM Proper Use Tab/Section.

Website:	Go to site
Description:	Hierarchical Linear and Nonlinear Modeling (HLM) software is a statistical package used for hierarchical linear modeling. This technology has statistical features such as cross-classified random effects for linear models for three-level data, and linear and nonlinear models for four-level data. Additionally, the software enables a wide choice of estimation options, integrated likelihood ratio hypothesis testing, graphics options, and the ability to handle heterogeneous hierarchical linear models. This technology is available in five licenses, HLM Standard, HLM Network, HLM Commercial, HLM Basic and HLM Trial. This entry covers all five licenses. This technology does not utilize a database to store data as data is stored on the user`s local drive.
Technology/Standard Usage Requirements:	Users must ensure their use of this technology/standard is consistent with VA policies and standards, including, but not limited to, VA Handbooks 6102 and 6500; VA Directives 6004, 6513, and 6517; and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards, including Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS). Users must ensure sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. Prior to use of this technology, users should check with their supervisor, Information Security Officer (ISO), Facility Chief Information Officer (CIO), or local Office of Information and Technology (OI&T) representative to ensure that all actions are consistent with current VA policies and procedures prior to implementation.
Section 508 Information:	This technology has not been assessed by the Section 508 Office. The Implementer of this technology has the responsibility to ensure the version deployed is 508-compliant. Section 508 compliance may be reviewed by the Section 508 Office and appropriate remedial action required if necessary. For additional information or assistance regarding Section 508, please contact the Section 508 Office at Section508@va.gov.
Decision:	View Decisions

Decision Source:	TRM Mgmt Group
Decision Process:	One-VA TRM v23.4
Decision Date:	04/05/2023 at 00:57:30 UTC
Introduced By:	TRM Analysis
Vendor Name:	Scientific Software International, Inc

Vendor Release Information

The Vendor Release table provides the known releases for the TRM Technology, obtained from the vendor (or from the release source).

You must be logged into the RSAA website prior to clicking the Attestation URLs or the URLs won't open.

Version	Release Date	Vendor End of Life Date	Vendor Desupport Date
6.8	09/01/2009
7.0
7.01	03/01/2013
7.03	10/10/2017
8.0
8.1
8.2.x

Current Decision Matrix (04/03/2023)

Users must ensure their use of this technology/standard is consistent with VA policies and standards, including, but not limited to, VA Handbooks 6102 and 6500; VA Directives 6004, 6513, and 6517; and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards, including Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS). Users must ensure sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. Prior to use of this technology, users should check with their supervisor, Information Security Officer (ISO), Facility Chief Information Officer (CIO), or local Office of Information and Technology (OI&T) representative to ensure that all actions are consistent with current VA policies and procedures prior to implementation.

The VA Decision Matrix displays the current and future VAIT position regarding different releases of a TRM entry. These decisions are based upon the best information available as of the most current date. The consumer of this information has the responsibility to consult the organizations responsible for the desktop, testing, and/or production environments to ensure that the target version of the technology will be supported.

Legend:

White	Authorized: The technology/standard has been authorized for use.
Yellow	Authorized w/ Constraints: The technology/standard can be used within the specified constraints located below the decision matrix in the footnote[1] and on the General tab.
Gray	Authorized w/ Constraints (POA&M): This technology or standard can be used only if a POA&M review is conducted and signed by the Authorizing Official Designated Representative (AODR) as designated by the Authorizing Official (AO) or designee and based upon a recommendation from the POA&M Compliance Enforcement, has been granted to the project team or organization that wishes to use the technology.
Orange	Authorized w/ Constraints (DIVEST): VA has decided to divest itself on the use of the technology/standard. As a result, all projects currently utilizing the technology/standard must plan to eliminate their use of the technology/standard. Additional information on when the entry is projected to become unauthorized may be found on the Decision tab for the specific entry.
Black	Unauthorized: The technology/standard is not (currently) permitted to be used under any circumstances.
Blue	Authorized w/ Constraints (PLANNING/EVALUATION): The period of time this technology is currently being evaluated, reviewed, and tested in controlled environments. Use of this technology is strictly controlled and not available for use within the general population. If a customer would like to use this technology, please work with your local or Regional OI&T office and contact the appropriate evaluation office displayed in the notes below the decision matrix. The Local or Regional OI&T office should submit an inquiry to the TRM if they require further assistance or if the evaluating office is not listed in the notes below.

Release/Version Information:

VA decisions for specific versions may include a ‘.x’ wildcard, which denotes a decision that pertains to a range of multiple versions.

For example, a technology authorized with a decision for 7.x would cover any version of 7.(Anything) - 7.(Anything). However, a 7.4.x decision would cover any version of 7.4.(Anything), but would not cover any version of 7.5.x or 7.6.x on the TRM.

VA decisions for specific versions may include ‘+’ symbols; which denotes that the decision for the version specified also includes versions greater than what is specified but is not to exceed or affect previous decimal places.

For example, a technology authorized with a decision for 12.6.4+ would cover any version that is greater than 12.6.4, but would not exceed the .6 decimal ie: 12.6.401 is ok, 12.6.5 is ok, 12.6.9 is ok, however 12.7.0 or 13.0 is not.

Any major.minor version that is not listed in the VA Decision Matrix is considered Authorized w/ Constraints (POA&M).

<Past

CY2021

CY2022

CY2023

Future>

Release

6.8

Unapproved

7.0

Unapproved

7.01

Unapproved

7.03

DIVEST
[5, 7]

Unapproved

8.0

Approved w/Constraints
[5, 7]

DIVEST
[5, 7, 8]

Unapproved

8.1

Unapproved

DIVEST
[5, 7, 8]

Unapproved

8.2.x

Unapproved

Approved w/Constraints
[9, 10, 11, 12]

Approved w/Constraints
[10, 11, 12, 13]

Decision Constraints


[1]	All handling, storage and transformation of VA operational and/or patient data must be compliant with VA Security Directive 6500.

[2]	Projects using this technology must meet Veterans Affairs (VA) Directive 6500 and implement Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS 199) for all laptop devices and National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publication 800-53 for all desktop devices when VA sensitive information is involved, or additional mitigating controls must be documented in an authorized System Security Plan (SSP) to prevent potential disclosure of PII/PHI data. Additionally, projects which interface with external VA partners must have a Memorandum of Understanding and Interconnection Security Agreements (MOU/ISA), which detail the security requirements for users and systems that share information and resources outside of the VA production network.

[3]	As of April 23, 2015, per the Deputy CIO of Architecture, Strategy and Design (ASD), all technologies in use by the VA require an assessment by the VA Section 508 office. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998 is a federal law that sets the guidelines for technology accessibility. A VA Section 508 assessment of this technology has not been completed at the time of publication. Therefore, as of April 23, 2015 only users of this technology who have deployed the technology to the production environment, or have project design and implementation plans authorized, may continue to operate this technology. In the case of a project that has implemented, or been authorized for a specific site or number of users, and that project needs to expand operations to other sites or to an increased user base, it may do so as long as the project stays on the existing version of the technology that was authorized or implemented as of April 22, 2015. Use of this technology in all other cases is prohibited.

[4]	Veterans Affairs (VA) users must ensure VA sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. All instances of deployment using this technology should be reviewed by the local ISO (Information Security Officer) to ensure compliance with VA Handbook 6500.

[5]	If free trialware is utilized, the software must be purchased or removed at the end of the trial period.

[6]	Veterans Affairs (VA) users must ensure VA sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. All instances of deployment using this technology should be reviewed by the local ISO (Information Security Officer) to ensure compliance with VA Handbook 6500.

[7]	Veterans Affairs (VA) users must ensure VA sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. All instances of deployment using this technology should be reviewed by the local ISO (Information Security Officer) to ensure compliance with VA Handbook 6500.

[8]	Users should check with their supervisor, Information Security Office (ISO) or local OIT representative for permission to download and use this software. Downloaded software must always be scanned for viruses prior to installation to prevent adware or malware. Freeware may only be downloaded directly from the primary site that the creator of the software has advertised for public download and user or development community engagement. Users should note, any attempt by the installation process to install any additional, unrelated software is not authorized and the user should take the proper steps to decline those installations.

[9]	Veterans Affairs (VA) users must ensure VA sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. All instances of deployment using this technology should be reviewed by the local ISSO (Information System Security Officer) to ensure compliance with VA Handbook 6500.

[10]	Users should check with their supervisor, Information System Security Officer (ISSO) or local OIT representative for permission to download and use this software. Downloaded software must always be scanned for viruses prior to installation to prevent adware or malware. Freeware may only be downloaded directly from the primary site that the creator of the software has advertised for public download and user or development community engagement. Users should note, any attempt by the installation process to install any additional, unrelated software is not authorized and the user should take the proper steps to decline those installations.

[11]	If free trialware is utilized, the software must be purchased or removed at the end of the trial period. Users must utilize authorized internet browsers, as Microsoft Internet Explorer has reached End of Life status. See Category Tab for details.

[12]	Technology must remain patched and operated in accordance with Federal and Department security policies and guidelines in order to mitigate known and future security vulnerabilities.

[13]	Veterans Affairs (VA) users must ensure VA sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. All instances of deployment using this technology should be reviewed by the local ISSO (Information System Security Officer) to ensure compliance with both VA Handbook 6500 and VA Directive 6500.

Note:

At the time of writing, version 8.2.1.13 is the most current version and was released on 09/09/2021.

Type	Name	Source	Description
There are no references identified for this entry.

Name	Description
No components have been identified for this entry.


Information Management Technologies Business Intelligence and Data Warehouse Platforms	Data Analytics (Statistical Analysis, Prediction, and Modeling)

General Analysis

Adoption Benefits

This technology may improve productivity for specific staff whose responsibilities include a number of graphing options to the user.
At the time of writing, no National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) vulnerabilities had been reported and no VA Cyber Security Operations Center (CSOC) bulletins had been issued for the latest versions of this technology.

Adoption Risks

This technology has a free trial period, which carries the potential for the disruption of service delivery and inaccurate financial planning.
There is limited publicly available technical documentation for this technology.
The potential of vendor lock exists when utilizing proprietary vendor technology.
The technology requires the purchase of licenses from vendor, which could potentially lead to vendor lock-in.
There is a lack of publicly available technical documentation and support requires an account sign-in in order to view the documents.
Due to the rapid release schedule of this technology, the VA may be unable to update to the most recent patch and may require a deployment model requiring the use of specific versions.
Microsoft Internet Explorer, a dependency of this technology, is in End of Life status and must no longer be used.
The potential exists to store Personally Identifiable Information (PII), Protected Health Information (PHI) and/or VA Sensitive data and proper security standards must be followed in these cases.

Architectural Risks

This technology is not portable as it runs only on Windows platforms.

- The information contained on this page is accurate as of the Decision Date (04/05/2023 at 00:57:30 UTC).

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VA Technical Reference Model v 24.11

General Information

Vendor Release Information

Current Decision Matrix (04/03/2023)

Decision Constraints

References

Technology Components

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VA Technical Reference Model v 24.11

General Information

Vendor Release Information

Current Decision Matrix (04/03/2023)

Decision Constraints

References

Technology Components

VA Categories View the VA Categorization Framework

Operating Systems Supported by the Technology

Technologies/Standards Relationships

Runtime Dependencies:

Optional Dependencies:

Comparable Technologies:

Companion Technologies/Supported Standards:

General Analysis

Adoption Benefits

Adoption Risks

Architectural Risks

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VA Categories

View the VA Categorization Framework