CAN/CSA-ISO/IEC 15504-5-07 (R2012)

Preface

Standards development within the Information Technology sector is harmonized with international standards development. Through the CSA Technical Committee on Information Technology (TCIT), Canadians serve as the Canadian Advisory Committee (CAC) on ISO/IEC Joint Technical Committee 1 on Information Technology (ISO/IEC JTC1) for the Standards Council of Canada (SCC), the ISO member body for Canada and sponsor of the Canadian National Committee of the IEC. Also, as a member of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Canada participates in the International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee (ITU-T).

Scope

This informative part of ISO/IEC 15504: - defines an exemplar Process Assessment Model that meets the requirements of ISO/IEC 15504-2 and that supports the performance of an assessment by providing indicators for guidance on the interpretation of the process purposes and outcomes as defined in ISO/IEC 12207 AMD1 and AMD2 and the process attributes as defined in ISO/IEC 15504-2; - provides guidance, by example, on the definition, selection and use of assessment indicators.

A Process Assessment Model comprises a set of indicators of process performance and process capability. The indicators are used as a basis for collecting the objective evidence that enables an assessor to assign ratings. The set of indicators included in this part of ISO/IEC 15504 is not intended to be an all-inclusive set nor is it intended to be applicable in its entirety. Subsets that are appropriate to the context and scope of the assessment should be selected, and possibly augmented with additional indicators (see Annex C).

The Process Assessment Model in this part of ISO/IEC 15504 is directed at assessment sponsors and competent assessors who wish to select a model, and associated documented process method, for assessment (for either capability determination or process improvement). Additionally it may be of use to developers of assessment models in the construction of their own model, by providing examples of good software engineering and management practices.

Any Process Assessment Model meeting the requirements defined in ISO/IEC 15504-2 concerning models for process assessment may be used for assessment. Different models and methods may be needed to address differing business needs. The assessment model in this part of ISO/IEC 15504 is provided as an exemplar of a model meeting all the requirements expressed in ISO/IEC 15504-2.

NOTE Copyright release for the Exemplar Process Assessment Model: Users of this part of ISO/IEC 15504 may freely reproduce the detailed descriptions contained in the exemplar assessment model as part of any tool or other material to support the performance of process assessments, so that it can be used for its intended purpose.