ISO/IEC TS 33061:2021

TECHNICAL ISO/IEC TS
SPECIFICATION 33061
First edition
ISO pub-date
Information technology — Process
assessment — Process assessment
model for software life cycle processes
PROOF/ÉPREUVE
Reference number
ISO/IEC TS 33061:2021(E)
©
ISO/IEC 2021

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ISO/IEC TS 33061:2021(E)

COPYRIGHT PROTECTED DOCUMENT
© ISO/IEC 2021
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, or required in the context of its implementation, no part of this publication may
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Published in Switzerland
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Contents Page
Foreword .v
Introduction .vi
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 The process assessment model . 1
4.1 General . 1
4.2 Structure of the process assessment model . 3
4.2.1 General. 3
4.2.2 Processes . 3
4.2.3 Process dimension . 4
4.2.4 Quality dimension . 4
4.3 Assessment indicators . 4
5 The process dimension . 5
5.1 General . 5
5.2 Agreement processes (AGR). 6
5.2.1 General. 6
5.2.2 Acquisition process . 6
5.2.3 Supply process . 8
5.3 Organizational project-enabling processes (ORG) . 9
5.3.1 General. 9
5.3.2 Life cycle model management process . 9
5.3.3 Infrastructure management process .10
5.3.4 Portfolio management process .11
5.3.5 Human resource management process .12
5.3.6 Quality management process.13
5.3.7 Knowledge management process .14
5.4 Technical management processes (MAN) .15
5.4.1 General.15
5.4.2 Project planning process .16
5.4.3 Project assessment and control process .17
5.4.4 Decision management process .19
5.4.5 Risk management process .20
5.4.6 Configuration management process .22
5.4.7 Information management process .24
5.4.8 Measurement process .25
5.4.9 Quality assurance process .26
5.5 Technical processes (TEC) .28
5.5.1 General.28
5.5.2 Business or mission analysis process .28
5.5.3 Stakeholder needs and requirements definition process .30
5.5.4 System/software requirements definition process .33
5.5.5 Architecture definition process .35
5.5.6 Design definition process .38
5.5.7 System analysis process.40
5.5.8 Implementation process .42
5.5.9 Integration process .44
5.5.10 Verification process .45
5.5.11 Transition process .47
5.5.12 Validation process . . .49
5.5.13 Operation process .51
5.5.14 Maintenance process .53
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5.5.15 Disposal process .55
6 The quality dimension.57
Annex A (informative) Process outputs .58
Bibliography .73
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ISO/IEC TS 33061:2021(E)

Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out
through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical
committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International
organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the
different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www .iso .org/ directives or www .iec .ch/ members
_experts/ refdocs).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of
any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the Introduction and/
or on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www .iso .org/ patents) or the IEClist of patent
declarations received (see http:// patents .iec .ch).
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and
expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the
World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) see www .iso .org/
iso/ foreword .html. In the IEC, see www .iec .ch/ understanding -standards.
This document was prepared by Joint Technical Committee ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology,
Subcommittee SC 7, Software and systems engineering.
This document cancels and replaces ISO/IEC 15504-5:2012, which has been technically revised.
The main changes compared to ISO/IEC 15504-5:2012 are as follows:
— all processes and their base practices are changed to reflect the ISO/IEC/IEEE 12207 processes;
— all process related process outputs and their descriptions are revised;
— this process assessment model includes a process quality attribute of process performance and can
be used with other models of process quality, for instance capability as described in ISO/IEC 33020.
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found at www .iso .org/ members .html and www .iec .ch/ national
-committees.
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Introduction
The set of International Standards ISO/IEC 33001 to ISO/IEC 33099, termed the ISO/IEC 330xx family,
defines the requirements and resources needed for process assessment. The overall architecture
and content of the ISO/IEC 330xx family is described in ISO/IEC 33001. Several standards in the
ISO/IEC 330xx family for process assessment are intended to replace and extend parts of the
ISO/IEC 15504 series. Abstracts and previews of the ISO/IEC 330xx family of standards can be found on
the ISO website.
This document defines a process assessment model for software life cycle processes, conformant with
the requirements of ISO/IEC 33004, for use in performing a conformant assessment in accordance with
the requirements of ISO/IEC 33002.
A process assessment model is related to one or more process reference models. The process reference
model defined in ISO/IEC/IEEE 12207 is used as the basis for the process assessment model in this
document.
A process assessment model incorporates a process measurement framework conformant with the
requirements of ISO/IEC 33003 and is expressed as a process quality characteristic with a defined set
of process attributes.
A process assessment model includes a set of assessment indicators. Process performance indicators
address the process purpose and outcomes of each process in the process assessment model. Process
quality indicators demonstrate the achievement of the process attributes in the process measurement
framework. These indicators may also provide a reference source of practices when implementing a
process improvement program.
The assessment indicators are used as a basis for collecting objective evidence to support an assessor’s
judgement in assigning ratings of the performance and quality of an implemented process. The set
of indicators defined in this document are not intended to be an all-inclusive set and applicable in
its entirety. Subsets appropriate to the context and scope of the assessment should be selected, and
potentially augmented with additional indicators.
A process assessment is conducted according to a documented assessment process. A documented
assessment process identifies the rating method to be used in rating process attributes and identifies
or defines the aggregation method to be used in determining ratings.
ISO/IEC 33020 provides a process measurement framework for the assessment of process
capability which may be incorporated as a process measurement framework in this document.
ISO/IEC 33020:2019, Annex B includes a set of process quality indicators for each process attribute in
the process measurement framework.
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TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION ISO/IEC TS 33061:2021(E)
Information technology — Process assessment — Process
assessment model for software life cycle processes
1 Scope
This document defines a process assessment model for software life cycle processes, conformant with
the requirements of ISO/IEC 33004, for use in performing a conformant assessment in accordance with
the requirements of ISO/IEC 33002.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO/IEC 33001, Information technology — Process assessment — Concepts and terminology
ISO/IEC 33003:2015, Information technology — Process assessment — Requirements for process
measurement frameworks
ISO/IEC 33004:2015, Information technology — Process assessment — Requirements for process reference,
process assessment and maturity models
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in ISO/IEC 33001 apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https:// www .iso .org/ obp
— IEC Electropedia: available at http:// www .electropedia .org/
4 The process assessment model
4.1 General
This document provides a basis for a process assessment model that is two-dimensional. In one
dimension, the process dimension, the processes are defined and classified into process groups
together with the set of assessment indicators of process performance. In the other dimension, the
quality dimension, for each process attribute in the process measurement framework a set of process
quality indicators is defined for the selected process quality characteristic.
This document applies the software system concepts as defined in ISO/IEC/IEEE 12207. These concepts
include software systems, software system architecture and enabling systems.
NOTE 1 The software systems considered in this document are human-made, created and utilized to provide
products or services in defined environments for the benefit of users and other stakeholders. These software
systems can include the following system elements: hardware, software, data, humans, processes (e.g. processes
for providing service to users), procedures (e.g. operator instructions), facilities, services, materials and naturally
occurring entities. As viewed by the user, they are thought of as products or services. (ISO/IEC/IEEE 12207)
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NOTE 2 This document applies to systems for which software is of primary importance to the stakeholders.
It is based upon the general principles of systems engineering and software engineering. It is a fundamental
premise of this document that software always exists in the context of a system. Since software does not
operate without hardware, the processor upon which the software is executed can be considered as part of
the system. Alternatively, hardware or services hosting the software system and handling communications
with other systems can also be viewed as enabling systems or external systems in the operating environment.
The perception and definition of a particular software system, its architecture, and its elements depend on a
stakeholder’s interests and responsibilities. One stakeholder’s system-of-interest can be viewed as a system
element in another stakeholder’s system-of-interest. Furthermore, a system-of-interest can be viewed as being
part of the environment for another stakeholder’s system-of-interest. (ISO/IEC/IEEE 12207)
NOTE 3 The life cycle processes in this document are described in relation to a software system that is compose
do facet of interacting system elements (including software elements), each of which can be implemented to
fulfil its respective specified requirements. Responsibility for the implementation of any system element may
therefore be delegated to another party through an agreement. (ISO/IEC/IEEE 12207)
NOTE 4 Throughout the life cycle of a system-of-interest, essential services are required from systems that
are not directly apart of the operational environment of the system-of-interest, e.g. modelling system, training
system, maintenance system. Each of these systems enables apart, e.g. a stage of the life cycle of the system-
of-interest to be conducted. Termed "enabling systems", they facilitate progression of the system-of-interest
through its life cycle. (ISO/IEC/IEEE 12207)
Figure 1 — Structure of the process assessment model
Figure 1 shows the process assessment model as a two-dimensional model, the process dimension
with its relationship to ISO/IEC/IEEE 12207 software life cycle processes, and the quality dimension in
relationship to a process measurement framework.
Users of this document may freely reproduce the detailed descriptions contained in the 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.
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4.2 Structure of the process assessment model
4.2.1 General
This subclause describes the detailed structure of the process assessment model and its key
components.
The process dimension comprises the set of processes defined with process purpose and process
outcomes together with a set of assessment indicators of process performance.
Processes included in a process reference model shall be in accordance with ISO/IEC 33004:2015, 5.4.
The processes in this document are derived directly from ISO/IEC/IEEE 12207 and meet the
ISO/IEC 33004 requirements for process descriptions, process purposes and outcomes.
The quality dimension comprising a set of process attributes for a selected process quality characteristic
is incorporated as a process measurement framework together with a set of process quality indicators.
NOTE ISO/IEC 33020 provides a process measurement framework for the assessment of process capability
which can be incorporated into this document. ISO/IEC 33020 also includes a set of process quality indicators for
each process attribute in the process measurement framework.
4.2.2 Processes
The process assessment model is based upon the software life cycle processes defined in
ISO/IEC/IEEE12207.The process reference model drawn from ISO/IEC/IEEE12207 consists of the
process purpose and outcomes defined in that standard. The purpose and outcomes are a statement of
the goals of the performance of each process.
NOTE ISO/IEC/IEEE 12207:2017, Clause 4 specifies criteria for claiming full or tailored conformance to
ISO/IEC/IEEE 12207.
Figure 2 lists the processes from ISO/IEC/IEEE 12207 that are included in the process dimension of the
process assessment model and shows their classification into process groups.
The process groups and their associated processes are described in Clause 5. The description of each
process group includes a characterization of the processes it contains. In this process assessment
model, each process belonging to a group is identified with a process identifier (ID) consisting of the
group abbreviated name and the sequential number of the process in that group.
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Figure 2 — Process groups
4.2.3 Process dimension
Each process has a process identifier (ID) consisting of the process group abbreviated name and
the sequential number of the process in that group. Each process is described by its name, purpose,
outcomes, base practices, and process outputs.
Each process is described in terms of a purpose statement. These statements contain the unique
functional objectives of the process when performed in a particular environment. A list of specific
process outcomes is associated with each of the process purpose statements, as a list of expected
positive results of the process performance.
4.2.4 Quality dimension
For the quality dimension, the minimum requirement is that the process is performed, i.e. the
implemented process achieves its process purpose and the expected outcomes are observable.
Process attributes are features of a process that can be evaluated on a scale of achievement, providing a
measure of the quality of the process and are applicable to all processes.
4.3 Assessment indicators
A process assessment model is based on the principle that the quality of a process can be assessed by
demonstrating the achievement of process attributes on the basis of evidences related to assessment
indicators.
There are two types of assessment indicators: process performance indicators and process quality
indicators. Process performance indicators address the process purpose and outcomes of each process
in the process dimension. Process quality indicators demonstrate the achievement of the process
attributes in the quality dimension.
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The process performance indicators are:
— base practice (BP);
— process output (PO).
The performance of base practices (BPs) provides an indication of the extent of achievement of the
process purpose and process outcomes. The base practices correspond to ISO/IEC/IEEE 12207
activities and tasks. Process outputs (POs) are either used or produced (or both), when performing the
process. Information items that are the key outputs of the process, are primarily used as performance
indicators.
Annex A provides the list of process outputs associated with the processes in Clause 5. The process
outputs are identified by categories. The process outputs are indicated by the process IDs.
Process quality indicators depend on the process quality characteristic of interest. The minimum
requirement is that at least one of the process attributes shall comprise the achievement of the defined
process purpose and process outcomes for the process; this is termed the process performance attribute
(see ISO/IEC 33003:2015, 4.2.1). Other process quality attributes can be defined as needed.
The process performance and process quality indicators represent types of objective evidence that can
be found in an instantiation of a process and therefore can be used to judge achievement of quality.
Figure 3 shows how the assessment indicators are related to process performance and process quality.
Figure 3 — Assessment indicators
5 The process dimension
5.1 General
The process dimension comprises the set of processes defined with process purpose and process
outcomes together with a set of assessment indicators of process performance.
The individual processes each have a process identifier (ID) consisting of the process group abbreviated
name and the sequential number of the process in that group and are described in terms of process
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name, process purpose, and process outcomes as defined in ISO/IEC/IEEE 12207. The process group
descriptions are compiled from ISO/IEC/IEEE 12207.
In addition, the process dimension of the process assessment model provides information in the form of
a set of:
a) base practices for the process providing a definition of the tasks and activities needed to accomplish
the process purpose and fulfil the process outcomes; each base practice is associated to one or
more process outcomes;
b) process outputs that are related to one or more process outcomes;
The process purposes, outcomes, base practices and process outputs associated with the processes
are included in this clause. The base practices and process outputs constitute the set of indicators of
process performance.
A documented assessment process and assessor judgment is needed to ensure that process context
(application domain, business purpose, development methodology, size of the organization, etc.) is
explicitly considered when using this information.
5.2 Agreement processes (AGR)
5.2.1 General
Organizations are producers and users of software systems. One organization (acting as an acquirer)
can task another (acting as a supplier) for products or services. This is achieved using agreements.
Agreements allow both acquirers and
...