Process Standards

A widely accepted principle in the software industry is that a quality process used to develop and maintain the product is an essential prerequisite for producing quality software.

The general objectives of software process standards are:

• to establish and document a standardized and coherent definition of software development activities,
• to provide a reference for common terminology, definition and vocabulary for software development,
• to establish clear expectations between acquirer and supplier.

Software process standards define the processes and activities necessary to produce quality software. They are used to manage and control the process using standardized methods and procedures.

The following is a list of the most widely recognized standards related to software development process:

	ISO/IEC 12207	Information technology - Software life cycle processes
	ISO/IEC PDTR 15504	Information technology - Software process assessment
	RTCA/DO-178B	Software considerations in airborne systems and equipment certification
	MIL-STD-498	Software development and documentation
	ESA PSS-05	European Space Agency - Software engineering standards

In addition the Capability Maturity Model for Software (CMM) developed by the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) defines a process maturity framework of five maturity levels; these levels describe an evolutionary path from ad hoc chaotic processes to mature and disciplined software processes. Although the CMM is not a standard , it has been very influential around the world for all activities related to process assessment and improvement. Detailed information about the CMM can be found at:

http://www.sei.cmu.edu/technology/cmm.html