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INTERNATIONAL ISO/IEC
STANDARD 15504-1

First edition
2004-11-01

Information technology — Process

assessment —
Part 1:
Concepts and vocabulary
Technologies de l'information — Évaluation des procédés —
Partie 1: Concepts et vocabulaire

Reference number
ISO/IEC 15504-1:2004(E)

© ISO/IEC 2004
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Contents Page

Foreword ............................................................................................................................................................ iv
Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................ v
1 Scope...................................................................................................................................................... 1
2 Normative references ........................................................................................................................... 1
3 Terms and definitions........................................................................................................................... 1
4 Concept .................................................................................................................................................. 7
4.1 General ................................................................................................................................................... 7
4.1.1 Purpose and benefits............................................................................................................................ 7
4.1.2 Field of application ............................................................................................................................... 8
4.1.3 Components of ISO/IEC 15504............................................................................................................. 9
4.1.4 Relationship to other International Standards................................................................................. 12
4.2 The assessment framework ............................................................................................................... 13
4.2.1 The context of assessment process ................................................................................................. 13
4.2.2 Assessment indicators....................................................................................................................... 14
4.3 Competency of assessors.................................................................................................................. 14
4.4 Process improvement context........................................................................................................... 15
4.5 Process capability determination context........................................................................................ 16
5 Conformance ....................................................................................................................................... 17
Annex A (informative) Classified terms and definitions............................................................................... 18
A.1 Model architecture terms ................................................................................................................... 18
A.2 Process terms ..................................................................................................................................... 18
A.3 Measurement framework terms ......................................................................................................... 18
A.4 Assessment process terms ............................................................................................................... 19
A.5 Assessor terms ................................................................................................................................... 19
A.6 Process improvement terms.............................................................................................................. 19
A.7 Process capability determination terms........................................................................................... 19

Figures and Tables

Figure 1 — Process Assessment Relationship............................................................................................... 8

Figure 2 — Components of ISO/IEC 15504.................................................................................................... 10
Figure 3 — Overview of relationship of elements of ISO/IEC 15504........................................................... 12
Figure 4 — The major elements of the assessment process ...................................................................... 13
Figure 5 — Process Assessment Model relationships ................................................................................ 14
Figure 6 — Process improvement .................................................................................................................. 15
Figure 7 — Process capability determination ............................................................................................... 16

Table 1 — Readership of ISO/IEC 15504........................................................................................................ 10

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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. In the field of information
technology, ISO and IEC have established a joint technical committee, ISO/IEC JTC 1.

International Standards are drafted in accordance with the rules given in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.

The main task of the joint technical committee is to prepare International Standards. Draft International
Standards adopted by the joint technical committee are circulated to national bodies for voting. Publication as
an International Standard requires approval by at least 75 % of the national bodies casting a vote.

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.

ISO/IEC 15504-1 was prepared by Joint Technical Committee ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology,
Subcommittee SC 7, Software and system engineering.

This edition cancels and replaces ISO/IEC TR 15504-1:1998 and ISO/IEC TR 15504-9:1998, which have
been technically revised.

ISO/IEC 15504 consists of the following parts, under the general title Information technology — Process
assessment:

— Part 1: Concepts and vocabulary

— Part 2: Performing an assessment

— Part 3: Guidance on performing an assessment

— Part 4: Guidance on use for process improvement and process capability determination

The following part is in preparation:

— Part 5: An exemplar Process Assessment Model

The complete series will replace ISO/IEC TR 15504-1 to ISO/IEC TR 15504-9.

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Introduction
This part of ISO/IEC 15504 provides a general introduction to the concepts of process assessment and a
glossary for assessment related terms.

ISO/IEC 15504-2 sets out the minimum requirements for performing an assessment that ensure consistency
and repeatability of the ratings. The requirements help to ensure that the assessment output is self-consistent
and provides evidence to substantiate the ratings and to verify compliance with the requirements.

ISO/IEC 15504-3 provides guidance for interpreting the requirements for performing an assessment.

ISO/IEC 15504-4 identifies process assessment as an activity that can be performed either as part of a
process improvement initiative or as part of a capability determination approach. The purpose of process
improvement is to continually improve the organization’s effectiveness and efficiency. The purpose of process
capability determination is to identify the strengths, weaknesses and risks of selected processes with respect
to a particular specified requirement through the processes used and their alignment with the business need.

ISO/IEC 15504-5 contains an exemplar Process Assessment Model that is based upon the Process
Reference Model defined in ISO/IEC 12207 Amd 1 Annex F and Amd 2. An assessment is carried out utilizing
conformant Process Assessment Model(s) related to one or more conformant or compliant Process Reference
Models.

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INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO/IEC 15504-1:2004(E)

Information technology — Process assessment —

Part 1:
Concepts and vocabulary

1 Scope
This part of ISO/IEC 15504 provides overall information on the concepts of process assessment and its use in
the two contexts of process improvement and process capability determination. It describes how the parts of
the suite fit together, and provides guidance for their selection and use. It explains the requirements contained
within ISO/IEC 15504, and their applicability to performing assessments.

Readers of this guide should familiarize themselves with the terminology and structure of the document suite,
and then reference the appropriate parts of the suite for the context in which they propose to conduct an
assessment. A more detailed description of the use of ISO/IEC 15504 is given in clause 4.

2 Normative references
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application 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 9000:2000, Quality management systems — Fundamentals and vocabulary

ISO/IEC 2382-1:1993, Information technology — Vocabulary — Part 1: Fundamental terms

ISO/IEC 2382-20:1990, Information technology — Vocabulary — Part 20: System development

ISO/IEC 12207:1995, Amd 1:2002, Amd 2:2004. Information technology — Software life cycle processes

ISO/IEC 15288:2002, Systems engineering — System life cycle processes

3 Terms and definitions

For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in ISO 9000, ISO/IEC 2382-1,
ISO/IEC 2382-20, ISO/IEC 12207 and ISO/IEC 15288 and the following apply.

3.1
acquirer
the stakeholder that acquires or procures a product or service from a supplier

[ISO/IEC 15288]

NOTE Other terms commonly used for an acquirer are buyer, customer, purchaser. The acquirer may at the same
time be the owner, user or operating organization.

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