SPICE Clearing House Policy

The SPICE Project will serve as a clearing house for information on products relevant to the use of the latest version of ISO/IEC 15504. Products available free for use, along with product demographic information may be published on the official SPICE Web Server (and mirrors thereof); if the product is not available free for use, only product demographic information will be published. Submissions must be made to the SPICE Project Manager who will approve publication following consultation with the SPICE Management Board Executive.

In the context of this policy the term product refers to models, methods, tools, training materials or training delivery, and other such items which have intrinsic value and usefulness in their own right in the context of 15504. Consultancy services as such are not considered to be a product in the context of this policy and accordingly are not suitable for publication on the SPICE Web Server.

Because the sole purpose of the SPICE clearing house facility is support of the promotional mandate of the SPICE project and specifically not the promotion of commercial or private interests of any organisation or individual, published information will be strictly limited to factual information pertaining to the product. Published products and related information may remain on the server as long as their utility to the 15504 community is apparent.

The application for publication must be submitted to the SPICE Project Manager and will consist of the product demographic information and (optionally) the product package (these terms are defined below). After consideration, and in consultation with the SPICE Management Board Executive, the applicant will be advised by the SPICE Project Manager of the disposition of the application. In the event that that publication is denied, the applicant will be advised of the reason(s) for this determination and may re-apply after appropriate corrective measures have been taken.

The term product demographic information includes the following:

  1. brief product description

  2. provider contact information: name, address, phone numbers, internet address, world wide web page URL, etc.

  3. product name and version identification (if applicable)

  4. product type (assessment method, assessment model, training, computer-based tool, etc). Assessment models must state their declaration of compatibility (if applicable). Providers of training or training materials must indicate whether their product is consistent with the SPICE Assessor Training Curriculum (and specify which version).

  5. product cost (free/market rates/other)

  6. product availability (available now, date available, period of availability, other)

  7. prerequisites for use of product, e.g.:

  1. types and levels of product support available from the provider along with a brief description of the terms of such support.

  2. functional restrictions on use of the product

  3. version of 15504 based on (e.g., TR, DIS, etc.)

The term product package will refer to the provider-produced components needed to use the product in the manner described in the corresponding product demographic information provided to the SPICE project manager in the application for publication. As a general rule, the product package would be expected to contain as a minimum the following components:

  1. the product demographic information described above

  2. a list identifying the product parts needed for assembly and describing the contents of the product package

  3. assembly instructions which explain clearly how to assemble or prepare the product for use, along with guidance for situations in which assembly problems arise (e.g., help desk, diagnostics)

  4. usage instructions which describe the normal modes of use of the product

  5. a description of the process by which comments and problem reports may be submitted

The following are the conditions that apply to products listed or made available by the Project. These conditions are intended to protect the rights and expectations of both product providers and product users:

  1. product providers are not obligated to support or update their products

  2. product support services such as training, customization, or help desk may be fee for service at the discretion of the product provider

  3. products are available as is. No warranty is expressed or implied, unless otherwise stated by the product provider

  4. all rights - especially for commercialisation - remain with the product provider

  5. product providers may commercialise their products in parallel with or subsequent to the SPICE trials

  6. the only obligation of the SPICE project is to ensure that the product demographic information provided is consistent with the intent of this policy and that products which are proven (by usage reports from SPICE users) to not operate as claimed are removed from the SPICE clearing house

  7. providers may make no claim of SPICE endorsement of their products for any reason and specifically not due to their presence on the SPICE server.

The following policies of the SPICE Project are especially relevant to the purpose and intended use of the SPICE Clearinghouse and so are provided below:

SPICE policy on endorsement

The SPICE project does NOT endorse any particular software process assessment method, model, tool or any other product or service available in the marketplace currently or in the future

THE SPICE MANAGEMENT BOARD