ISO/IEC JTC1/SC7

WG 10: Software Process Assessment

Convenor: Alec Dorling (UK)

Scope:

Development of standards and guidelines covering methods, practices and application of process assessment in software product procurement, development, delivery, operation, evolution and related service support.

Modus Operandi

Survey of User Opinions and Requirements

for the revision of ISO/IEC TR 15504

Status:

Working Group 10 of ISO/IEC JTC1/SC7 (Software Engineering Standards) is developing an International Standard for Software Process Assessment. The initial stage in this dev elopment has been the publication of a suite of 9 documents as Technical Reports Type 2; the ISO/IEC JTC1 Directives state that a document may be issued as a Technical Report Type 2 as a prospective standard for provisional application because there is an urgent need for guidance on how standards in the specific field should be used to meet an identified need.

Trials on the use and application of ISO/IEC TR 15504 are being conducted by the SPICE Project. Findings from the Trials will be fed into the development and revision of the document set. The SPICE Project has announced that the Trials will move into Phase 3 with the publication of ISO TR 15504. The SPICE Users Group has applied for official liaison status with WG10 to support the further evolution of ISO/IEC TR 15504.

Eight of the nine parts of the document set were approved for publication in November 1997 as Technical Report Type 2 following disposition of comments received in the Draft Technical Report Ballot. The documents were forwarded to ISO for publication by the SC7 Secretariat early in 1998, and final page proofs have been approved by the Editor. The final part - ISO/IEC 15504-5 - was approved for publication in the Draft Technical Report ballot closing 1 May 1998, and this part has now also been sent for publication following disposition of the comments received.

An initial study to determine requirements for the revision of the Technical Report Type 2 and its subsequent publication as an International Standard was agreed at the last meeting of WG10. This revision is intended to proceed in close alignment with the revision of ISO/IEC 12207. A survey to help with the identification of user needs and views has now been started; a preliminary report on this survey is expected to be available in October 1998, with the final report in March 1999.

Projects:

ISO/IEC DTR 15504 Software Process Assessment: Project Editor: Terry Rout (Australia)
ISO/IEC DTR 15504-1 Part 1 : Concepts and introductory guide: Product Editor: Catriona Mackie (UK)
ISO/IEC DTR 15504-2 Part 2 : A reference model for processes and process capability: Product Editor: Allan Graydon (Canada)
ISO/IEC DTR 15504-3 Part 3 : Performing an assessment: Product Editor: Harry Barker (UK)
ISO/IEC DTR 15504-4 Part 4 : Guide to performing assessments: Product Editor: Harry Barker (UK)
ISO/IEC DTR 15504-5 Part 5 : An assessment model and indicator guidance: Product Editor: Jean Martin Simon (France)
ISO/IEC DTR 15504-6 Part 6 : Guide to qualification of assessors: Product Editor: Ron Meegoda (Australia)
ISO/IEC DTR 15504-7 Part 7 : Guide for use in process improvement: Product Editor: Pasi Kuvaja (Finland) & Adriana Bicego (Italy)
ISO/IEC DTR 15504-8 Part 8 : Guide for use in determining supplier process capability: Product Editor: John Hamilton (UK)
ISO/IEC DTR 15504-9 Part 9 : Vocabulary: Product Editor: Terry Rout (Australia)

Document availability

Three different draft versions of ISO/IEC 15504 are currently available, with differing restrictions on access.

The Working Drafts (WD) prepared by the SPICE Project for Registration Ballot, dated June 1995, are freely available from the SPICE Project Web Site.
The Preliminary Draft Technical Report (PDTR) document set, dated July 1996, was the baseline in use for Phase 2 of the SPICE Project Trials. It is available to organisations and individuals that register with the WG10 Convenor.
The Technical Report (Type 2) (TR) (Parts 1-4 and 6-9) is being processed for publication by ISO and will be available shortly. Contact your national standards body for details of availability and cost. Part 5 will be published a short time after the remaining parts.

The set of Technical Reports (Type 2) ISO/IEC TR 15504 Software Process Assessment are
formally referenced as follows:

ISO/IEC TR 15504-1:1998 Information technology - Software process assessment - Part 1 : Concepts and introductory guide

ISO/IEC TR 15504-2:1998 Information technology - Software process assessment - Part 2 : A reference model for processes and process capability

ISO/IEC TR 15504-3:1998 Information technology -Software process assessment - Part 3 : Performing an assessment

ISO/IEC TR 15504-4:1998 Information technology - Software process assessment - Part 4 : Guide to performing assessments

ISO/IEC TR 15504-5:1998 Information technology - Software process assessment - Part 5 : An assessment model and indicator guidance

ISO/IEC TR 15504-6:1998 Information technology - Software process assessment - Part 6 : Guide to competency of assessors

ISO/IEC TR 15504-7:1998 Information technology - Software process assessment - Part 7 : Guide for use in process improvement

ISO/IEC TR 15504-8:1998 Information technology - Software process assessment - Part 8 : Guide for use in determining supplier process capability

ISO/IEC TR 15504-9:1998 Information technology - Software process assessment - Part 9 : Vocabulary

Meeting Details

The next meeting of WG10 will be held at Tel Aviv, Israel from 22 - 26 March 1999.A Draft Agenda for this meeting is available.

The following meeting will be held in conjunction with the JTC1/SC7 Plenary Meeting in Curitiba, Brazil in May 1999. .

See also:

WG 2 System Software Documentation

This Web Site is provided and maintained by the Software Quality Institute at Griffith University.
Last updated on the 15th May 2001.