ISO/IEC TR 29110-3-1:2020

TECHNICAL ISO/IEC TR
REPORT 29110-3-1
Second edition
2020-04
Systems and software engineering —
Lifecycle profiles for Very Small
Entities (VSEs) —
Part 3-1:
Process assessment guidelines
Reference number
©
ISO/IEC 2020
© ISO/IEC 2020
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, or required in the context of its implementation, no part of this publication may
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ii © ISO/IEC 2020 – All rights reserved

Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .vi
1 Scope . 1
1.1 Fields of application . 1
1.2 Target audience . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Abbreviated terms . 2
5 Process assessment framework . 3
6 VSE process assessment . 4
6.1 Performing an assessment . 4
6.1.1 General. 4
6.1.2 Assessment inputs . 5
6.1.3 Roles and responsibilities . 5
6.1.4 The assessment process . 5
6.2 Use of the assessment results . 6
6.3 Achievement of a VSE profile . 6
6.4 Application of process assessment models . 6
Annex A (informative) Measurement framework for the assessment of process capability
and VSE profiles . 8
Annex B (informative) Examplar software life cycle process assessment model for Very
Small Entities.21
Annex C (informative) Examplar system life cycle process assessment model for Very Small
Entities .68
Bibliography .99
© ISO/IEC 2020 – All rights reserved iii

Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (the International Electrotechnical
Commission) form the specialized system for worldwide standardization. National bodies that
are members of ISO or IEC participate in the development of International Standards through
technical committees established by the respective organization to deal with particular fields of
technical activity. ISO and IEC technical committees collaborate in fields of mutual interest. Other
international organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO and IEC, 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 document 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).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject
of patent rights. ISO and IEC 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 IEC
list 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.
This document was prepared by Joint Technical Committee ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology,
Subcommittee SC 7, Software and systems engineering.
This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition (ISO/IEC/TR 29110-3-1:2015), which has been
technically revised.
The main changes compared to the previous edition are as follows:
— Annex A has been reworked and split to distinguish measurement framework and exemplar process
assessment model; exemplar process assessment model for system life cycle processes has been added;
— main concepts for VSE profiles, i.e. maturity levels and process capability levels, have been added;
— structure of the process assessment model has been reworked and mapped to VSE profiles and
processes dimensions;
— process assessment indicators description has been reworked;
— software project management and software implementation process base practices indicators
and work product characteristics have been aligned with the latest editions of ISO/IEC 29110-4-1,
ISO/IEC/TR 29110-5-1-2 and ISO/IEC/TR 29110-5-2-1;
— software process performance indicators for organizational profile group have been added;
— software process capability levels and process attributes indicators (PA.1 to PA.4) have been added;
— rules to derive VSE profiles from process capability levels have been added;
— subclauses on conformity of the exemplar process assessment model have been added.
A list of all parts in the ISO/IEC 29110 series can be found on the ISO website.
iv © ISO/IEC 2020 – All rights reserved

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.
© ISO/IEC 2020 – All rights reserved v

Introduction
Very Small Entities (VSEs) around the world are creating valuable products and services. For the
purpose of the ISO/IEC 29110 series, a Very Small Entity (VSE) is an enterprise, an organization, a
department or a project having up to 25 people. Since many VSEs develop and/or maintain system
and software components used in systems, either as independent products or incorporated in larger
systems, recognition of VSEs as suppliers of high quality products is required.
According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) SME and
Entrepreneurship Outlook 2019 report, ‘Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and
entrepreneurship are essential drivers of economic and social well-being. Representing 99 % of all
businesses, generating about 60 % of employment and totalling between 50 % and 60 % of value added
in the OECD area’. The challenge facing OECD governments is to provide a business environment that
supports the competitiveness of this large heterogeneous business population and that promotes a
vibrant entrepreneurial culture.
From studies and surveys conducted, it is clear that the majority of International Standards do not
address the needs of VSEs. Implementation of and conformance with these standards is difficult, if not
impossible. Consequently, VSEs have no, or very limited, ways to be recognized as entities that produce
quality systems/system elements, including software in their domain. Therefore, VSEs are excluded
from some economic activities.
It has been found that VSEs find it difficult to relate International Standards to their business needs
and to justify the effort required to apply standards to their business practices. Most VSEs can neither
afford the resources, in terms of number of employees, expertise, budget and time, nor do they see a
net benefit in establishing over-complex systems or software life cycle processes. To address some of
these difficulties, a set of guides has been developed based on a set of VSE characteristics. The guides
are based on subsets of appropriate standards processes, activities, tasks, and outcomes, referred to as
profiles. The purpose of a profile is to define a subset of International Standards relevant to the VSEs'
context; for example, processes, activities, tasks, and outcomes of ISO/IEC/IEEE 12207 for software;
processes, activities, tasks, and outcomes of ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288 for systems; information products
(documentation) of ISO/IEC/IEEE 15289 for software and systems.
VSEs can achieve recognition through implementing a profile and by being audited against
ISO/IEC 29110 specifications.
The ISO/IEC 29110 series of standards and technical reports can be applied at any phase of system or
software development within a life cycle. This series is intended to be used by VSEs that do not have
experience or expertise in adapting/tailoring ISO/IEC/IEEE 12207 or ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288 standards
to the needs of a specific project. VSEs that have expertise in adapting/tailoring ISO/IEC/IEEE 12207 or
ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288 are encouraged to use those standards instead of the ISO/IEC 29110 series.
The ISO/IEC 29110 series is intended to be used with any lifecycle such as waterfall, iterative,
incremental, evolutionary or agile.
Systems, in the context of the ISO/IEC 29110 series, are typically composed of hardware and software
components.
The ISO/IEC 29110 series, targeted by audience, has been developed to improve system or software
and/or service quality, and process performance. See Table 1.
vi © ISO/IEC 2020 – All rights reserved

Table 1 — ISO/IEC 29110 target audience
ISO/IEC 29110 Title Target audience
ISO/IEC/TR 29110-1 Overview VSEs and their customers, assessors,
standards producers, tool vendors and
methodology vendors.
ISO/IEC 29110-2 Framework for profile prepa- Profile producers, tool vendors and
ration methodology vendors.
Not intended for VSEs.
ISO/IEC 29110-3 Certification and assessment VSEs and their customers, assessors,
guidance accreditation bodies.
ISO/IEC 29110-4 Profile specifications VSEs, customers, standards producers,
tool vendors and methodology vendors.
ISO/IEC/TR 29110-5 Management, engineering and VSEs and their customers.
service delivery guides
ISO/IEC 29110-6 Management and engineering VSEs and their customers.
guides not tied to a specific
profile
ISO/IEC/TR 29110-7 Specific profile guidelines VSEs and their customers.
If a new profile is needed, ISO/IEC 29110-4 and ISO/IEC/TR 29110-5 and ISO/IEC 29110-6 and or
ISO/IEC/TR 29110-7 ISO/IEC/TR 29110-5 can be developed with minimal impact to existing documents.
ISO/IEC/TR 29110-1 defines the terms common to the ISO/IEC 29110 series. It introduces processes,
lifecycle and standardization concepts, the taxonomy (catalogue) of ISO/IEC 29110 profiles and
the ISO/IEC 29110 series. It also introduces the characteristics and needs of a VSE, and clarifies the
rationale for specific profiles, docu
...