NIST SP 800-171 contains 110 individual security controls grouped into 14 control families. These families cover everything from access control and audit logging to personnel security, risk assessment, and incident response. Organizations preparing for CMMC Level 2 must demonstrate that they understand, document, and implement each control.

Many contractors struggle with mapping controls to real operational activities. The best approach is to break each control into three parts: what it requires, how you meet it, and where the evidence is stored. This simplifies compliance and ensures you have the right documentation ready for the C3PAO assessment.