ISO/IEC TR 24748-2:2011

Systems and software engineering - Life cycle management - Part 2: Guide to the application of ISO/IEC 15288 (System life cycle processes)

ISO/IEC TR 24748-2:2011 is a guide for the application of ISO/IEC 15288:2008. It addresses system, life cycle, process, organizational, project, and adaptation concepts, principally through reference to ISO/IEC TR 24748-1 and ISO/IEC 15288:2008. It then gives guidance on applying ISO/IEC 15288:2008 from the aspects of strategy, planning, application in organizations, and application on projects. ISO/IEC TR 24748-2:2011 is intentionally aligned with both ISO/IEC TR 24748-1 and ISO/IEC TR 24748-3 (Guide to the application of ISO/IEC 12207) in its terminology, structure and content.

Ingénierie des systèmes et du logiciel — Gestion du cycle de vie — Partie 2: Guide pour l'application de l'ISO/CEI 15288 (Processus du cycle de vie du système)

General Information

• Status: Withdrawn
• Publication Date: 25-Aug-2011
• Withdrawal Date: 25-Aug-2011
• ICS: 35.080 - Software
• Technical Committee: ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 7 - Software and systems engineering
• Drafting Committee: ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 7/WG 7 - Life cycle management
• Current Stage: 9599 - Withdrawal of International Standard
• Start Date: 12-Dec-2018
• Completion Date: 30-Oct-2025

Relations

• Revised: ISO/IEC/IEEE 24748-2:2018 - Systems and software engineering - Life cycle management - Part 2: Guidelines for the application of ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288 (System life cycle processes)
• Effective Date: 13-Feb-2016
• Revises: ISO/IEC TR 19760:2003 - Systems engineering - A guide for the application of ISO/IEC 15288 (System life cycle processes)
• Effective Date: 23-Jul-2011

Standards Content (Sample)

TECHNICAL ISO/IEC
REPORT TR
24748-2
First edition
2011-09-01
Systems and software engineering — Life
cycle management —
Part 2:
Guide to the application of ISO/IEC 15288
(System life cycle processes)
Ingénierie des systèmes et du logiciel — Gestion du cycle de vie —
Partie 2: Guide pour l'application de l'ISO/CEI 15288 (Processus du
cycle de vie du système)
Reference number
©
ISO/IEC 2011
©  ISO/IEC 2011
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without permission in writing from either ISO at the address below or
ISO's member body in the country of the requester.
ISO copyright office
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Tel. + 41 22 749 01 11
Fax + 41 22 749 09 47
E-mail [e-mail]
Web www.iso.org
Published in Switzerland
ii © ISO/IEC 2011 – All rights reserved

Contents Page
Foreword . v
Introduction . vi
1 Scope . 1
2 Terms and definitions . 1
3 Overview of ISO/IEC 15288:2008 . 1
3.1 General . 1
3.2 Structure of ISO/IEC 15288:2008 . 1
3.3 Context of ISO/IEC 15288:2008 . 2
3.4 Comparison to prior version of ISO/IEC 15288:2008 . 4
4 Application concepts . 5
4.1 Overview . 5
4.2 System concepts . 6
4.3 Life cycle concepts . 6
4.4 Process concepts . 6
4.4.1 General . 6
4.4.2 Process principles . 8
4.4.3 Process categories of ISO/IEC 15288:2008 . 9
4.4.4 Recursive/iterative application of processes . 10
4.5 Organizational concepts . 12
4.5.1 General . 12
4.5.2 Responsibility . 12
4.5.3 Organizational relationships . 12
4.5.4 Project organizational structure . 13
4.6 Project concepts . 13
4.6.1 General . 13
4.6.2 Project relationships . 14
4.6.3 Enabling system relationships . 15
4.6.4 Hierarchy of projects . 16
4.7 Adaptation concepts . 17
4.7.1 General . 17
4.7.2 Adaptation . 18
4.7.3 Life cycle adaptation . 18
4.7.4 Adaptation for domains, disciplines and specialties . 18
4.7.5 Tailoring . 19
5 Applying ISO/IEC 15288:2008 . 19
5.1 Overview . 19
5.2 Application strategy . 19
5.2.1 Overview . 19
5.2.2 Planning the application . 20
5.2.3 Conduct pilot project(s) . 21
5.2.4 Formalize the approach . 22
5.2.5 Institutionalize the approach . 22
5.3 Application in organizations . 22
5.3.1 Overview . 22
5.3.2 Considerations and techniques . 23
5.3.3 Application opportunities . 23
5.3.4 Management commitment . 24
5.3.5 Uses of ISO/IEC 15288:2008 within an organization . 24
5.4 Application on projects . 25
© ISO/IEC 2011 – All rights reserved iii

5.4.1 Overview .25
5.4.2 Application of agreement processes on a project .25
5.4.3 Application of technical processes to a project .28
5.4.4 Application of processes in a life cycle model .39
Annex A (informative) Notes for application of ISO/IEC 15288:2008 processes .49
A.1 General .49
A.2 Agreement processes notes (Clause 6.1) .49
A.3 Organizational project-enabling processes notes (Clause 6.2) .51
A.4 Project processes notes (Clause 6.3) .54
A.5 Technical processes notes (Clause 6.4) .64
Bibliography .76

iv © ISO/IEC 2011 – All rights reserved

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. ISO collaborates closely with the
International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.
International Standards are drafted in accordance with the rules given in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
The main task of technical committees is to prepare International Standards. Draft International Standards
adopted by the technical committees are circulated to the member bodies for voting. Publication as an
International Standard requires approval by at least 75 % of the member bodies casting a vote.
In exceptional circumstances, when the joint technical committee has collected data of a different kind from
that which is normally published as an International Standard (“state of the art”, for example), it may decide to
publish a Technical Report. A Technical Report is entirely informative in nature and shall be subject to review
every five years in the same manner as an International Standard.
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.
ISO/IEC TR 24748-2 was prepared by Joint Technical Committee ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology,
Subcommittee SC 7, Software and systems engineering.
This first edition of ISO/IEC TR 24748-2 cancels and replaces ISO/IEC TR 19760:2003, which has been
technically revised.
ISO/IEC TR 24748 consists of the following parts, under the general title Systems and software
engineering — Life cycle management:
 Part 1: Guide for life cycle management
 Part 2: Guide to the application of ISO/IEC 15288 (System life cycle processes)
 Part 3: Guide to the application of ISO/IEC 12207 (Software life cycle processes)
© ISO/IEC 2011 – All rights reserved v

Introduction
ISO/IEC 12207:1995 (Information technology — Software life cycle processes) and ISO/IEC 15288:2002
(Systems engineering — System life cycle processes) have application guides (ISO/IEC TR 15271:1998 and
ISO/IEC 19760:2003, respectively) for the use of each International Standard individually. However, both
International Standards were re-published in 2008 after significant revisions to align their terminology and
structure. As a consequence, the two published application guides no longer relate to their respective
standards and can not provide the guidance intended.
ISO/IEC TR 24748-1 (Systems and software engineering — Life cycle management — Part 1: Guide for life
cycle management) was published in 2010 to facilitate the joint usage of the process content of
ISO/IEC 15288:2008 and ISO/IEC 12207:2008 by providing unified and consolidated guidance on life cycle
management of systems and software. This helps ensure consistency in system concepts and life cycle
concepts, models, stages, processes, process application, key points of view, adaptation and use in various
domains as the two standards are used in combination. That in turn helps a project design a life cycle model
for managing the progress of its project. ISO/IEC TR 24748-1 also aids in identifying and planning use of life
cycle processes described in ISO/IEC 15288 and ISO/IEC 12207 that enable the product or service project to
be completed successfully, meeting its objectives/requirements for each stage and for the overall project.
This part of ISO/IEC TR 24748 supports use of ISO/IEC 15288:2008 and replaces ISO/IEC TR 19760. This
part of ISO/IEC TR 24748 and its companion, ISO/IEC TR 24748-3 (Guide to the application of
ISO/IEC 12207) — which replaces ISO/IEC TR 15271 — continue and make use of the alignment effort
evident in the two revised International Standards. Both terminology and structure in the guides are identical
wherever possible and content is aligned consistent with that in the two International Standards. Consequently,
the users of ISO/IEC 12207:2008 and ISO/IEC 15288:2008 will benefit from having documents
complementarily addressing all aspects of products or services over their life cycle.
Besides the above, there is also increasing recognition of the importance of ensuring that all life cycle stages,
and all aspects within each stage, are supported with thorough guidance enabling alignment with any process
documents subsequently created that focus on areas besides systems and software. This could include
hardware, humans, processes (e.g. review process), procedures (e.g. operator instructions), facilities and
naturally occurring entities (e.g. water, organisms, minerals). The concept and structure of the
ISO/IEC TR 24748 series of Technical Reports is intended to allow its extension to such additional domains
where that will provide value to users.
vi © ISO/IEC 2011 – All rights reserved

TECHNICAL REPORT ISO/IEC TR 24748-2:2011(E)

Systems and software engineering — Life cycle management —
Part 2:
Guide to the application of ISO/IEC 15288 (System life cycle
processes)
1 Scope
This part of ISO/IEC TR 24748 is a guide for the application of ISO/IEC 15288:2008. It addresses system, life
cycle, process, organizational, project, and adaptation concepts, principally through reference to
ISO/IEC TR 24748-1 and ISO/IEC 15288:2008. It then gives guidance on applying ISO/IEC 15288:2008 from
the aspects of strategy, planning, application in organizations, and application on projects.
This part of ISO/IEC TR 24748 is intentionally aligned with both ISO/IEC TR 24748-1 and
ISO/IEC TR 24748-3 (Guide to the application of ISO/IEC 12207) in its terminology, structure and content.
2 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in ISO/IEC 12207:2008, ISO/IEC
15288:2008 and ISO/IEC TR 24748-1:2010, apply.
3 Overview of ISO/IEC 15288:2008
3.1 General
ISO/IEC 15288:2008, Systems and software engineering – System life cycle processes, establishes a common
framework for system life cycle processes, with well-defined terminology, that can be referenced by the
systems engineering industry. It applies to the acquisition of systems, which can be comprised of products,
services, or both, as well as to the supply, development, operation, maintenance, and disposal of systems,
whether performed internally or externally to an organization.
ISO/IEC 15288:2008 may be used stand alone or jointly with other International Standards, such as
ISO/IEC 12207, and supplies a process reference model that supports process capability assessment in
accordance with ISO/IEC 15504-2 (Process assessment).
The purpose of ISO/IEC 15288:2008 is to provide a defined set of processes to facilitate communication
among acquirers, suppliers and other stakeholders in the life cycle of a system. ISO/IEC 15288:2008 is written
for acquirers of systems and for suppliers, developers, operators, maintainers, managers, quality assurance
managers, and users of systems.
3.2 Structure of ISO/IEC 15288:2008
ISO/IEC 15288:2008 contains requirements in two Clauses:
 Clause 6, which defines the requirements for the system life cycle processes,
 Annex A that provides requirements for tailoring of ISO/IEC 15288:2008.
© ISO/IEC 2011 – All rights reserved 1

Have
span of
interest
Five informative annexes support the use of ISO/IEC 15288:2008 or its harmonization with
ISO/IEC 12207:2008:
 Annex B provides information about use of the system life cycle processes as a process reference model
to support process assessment.
 Annex C provides a description of the process constructs used in ISO/IEC 15288:2008.
 Annex D provides an example of a process view for Specialty Engineering, intended to illustrate how a
project might assemble processes, activities and tasks of ISO/IEC 15288 to provide focused attention to
the achievement of product characteristics that have been selected as being of special interest.
 Annex E describes the alignment of the processes of ISO/IEC 15288 and ISO/IEC 12207.
 Annex F provides support for IEEE users and describes relationships of ISO/IEC 15288:2008 to IEEE
standards.
Readers of ISO/IEC 15288:2008 are advised to consult clause 5 of that International Standard to gain
understanding of the key concepts used.
3.3 Context of ISO/IEC 15288:2008
ISO/IEC 15288:2008 has a focus on the processes that are used by or for a project that exists in a defined
relationship with the organization, other projects and enabling systems. A project is assigned responsibility
that encompasses one or more life cycle stages of the system-of-interest. ISO/IEC 15288:2008 is applicable
to organizations and projects whether they act as the acquirer or the supplier of a system and whether the
system is comprised of products, services, or a combination of both.
The context of ISO/IEC 15288:2008 is illustrated in Figure 1.
Project span of
control
System-of-
Organizations
interest Organizations
Organizations
Enabling
system
Create and monitor
projects
Projects
Projects
Projects
System-of-
interest
Apply processes to perform
Life cycle stages required work on or with
software within life cycle
(s , s , …, s )
1 2 n
stages
Figure 1 — Context of ISO/IEC 15288:2008
2 © ISO/IEC 2011 – All rights reserved

em
Have syst
focus
A single project may involve multiple organizations working together as partners. Such a project should use
ISO/IEC 15288:2008 to establish common terminology, as well as information flows and interfaces among the
several organizations to enhance communications.
When an organization applies ISO/IEC 15288:2008 to a particular system, that system becomes the system-
of-interest. The system-of-interest has a life cycle that consists of multiple stages through which the system
passes during its lifetime, denoted s , s , … s . An example of typical stages is:
1 2 n
 s : concept,
 s : development,
 s : production,
 s : utilization,
 s : support,
 s retirement.
NOTE 1 Stages are described in clause 5.2.2 of ISO/IEC 15288:2008 and in clauses 3.2 and 4 of ISO/IEC TR 24748-1.
NOTE 2 The management of the progression from one stage to another and the engineering activities associated with
providing appropriate work products and decision-making information are described in clause 5 of ISO/IEC TR 24748-1.
A number of enabling systems are deployed throughout the system life cycle to provide the system-of-interest
with support as needed. Each life cycle stage can require one or more enabling systems. Enabling systems
that cooperate with the system-of-interest during its utilization, support and retirement stages can be needed,
as well. It is important to note that an enabling system has its own life cycle and that when
ISO/IEC 15288:2008 is applied to it, it then becomes a system-of-interest.
NOTE 3 The role and use of enabling systems are described in clauses 4.6.3 and 5.4.3.5 of this Technical Report.
NOTE 4 For related material on enabling systems, see also clause 5.1.4 of ISO/IEC 15288 and clause 3.1.5 of
ISO/IEC TR 24748-1.
ISO/IEC 15288:2008 is applicable at any level of the structure associated with a system-of-interest. As a
system is decomposed recursively into its system elements, the processes of ISO/IEC 15288:2008 may be
used for each system and system element in the system structure. Each system and system element has a
life cycle of its own and its own set of enabling systems.
NOTE 5 For related material on system structure, see clause 5.1.3 of ISO/IEC 15288 and clause 3.1.4 of
ISO/IEC TR 24748-1.
NOTE 6 A view from a project hierarchy perspective is given in Clause 4.6.4 of this Technical Report.
In order to perform needed operations and transformations upon systems during their life cycles, the
organization creates and monitors projects. Projects have defined scope, resources (including time) and focus.
The scope can involve managing all of the stages of the life cycle, a subset of the stages, one or more defined
processes or one or more process activities. The time scale can be of varying duration, for example one hour
or tens of years. The focus of the project is related to the system-of-interest and its systems and system
elements in some form of system structure or stage partitioning.
NOTE 7 Related project concepts are described in Clause 4.6 of this Technical Report.
NOTE 8 System life cycle concepts are described in clause 3.2 of ISO/IEC TR 24748-1.
Organizations focus on systems that are created by projects within the organization or in conjunction with
other organizations. Projects have a span of interest that includes the system-of-interest and its related
© ISO/IEC 2011 – All rights reserved 3

enabling systems. Some enabling systems are under direct control of the project. The system-of-interest and
those enabling systems make up the project span of control.
NOTE 9 The span of interest is described in Clause 4.6.3 of this Technical Report.
The work performed by projects is on or with the system-of-interest within one or more life cycle stages. The
scope of ISO/IEC 15288:2008 includes the definition of an appropriate life cycle for a system, the selection of
processes to be applied throughout the life cycle and the application of these processes to fulfil agreements
and achieve customer satisfaction.
ISO/IEC 15288:2008 can be applied to all types of product- or service-focused systems and system elements
consisting of one or more of the following: hardware, software, humans, processes, procedures, facilities, and
naturally occurring entities. The use of ISO/IEC 15288:2008 for systems within this broad scope is one of its
main advantages.
The use of the standard may be adapted to accommodate the varying project requirements in treating system
life cycles.
NOTE 10 This may be performed by adapting the life cycle as described in clauses 6 and 7 of ISO/IEC TR 24748-1 and
tailoring described in Annex A of ISO/IEC 15288:2008.
3.4 Comparison to prior version of ISO/IEC 15288:2008
Clause 9.1 of Technical Report ISO/IEC TR 24748-1 gives extensive detailed comparison between the 2002
and 2008 versions of International Standard ISO/IEC 15288, as well as comparisons between the old and new
versions of International Standard ISO/IEC 12207 and between International Standards ISO/IEC 15288 and
ISO/IEC 12207. Basically:
 The structure of the processes in ISO/IEC 15288:2008 has been changed to align with the structure in
ISO/IEC 12207:2008 by decomposing process activities into more detailed tasks.
 Individual processes have been adjusted in both International Standards. This mostly consists of process
renaming in ISO/IEC 15288:2008, with a few processes added or combined with others, as shown in
Figure 2.
ISO/IEC 15288:2002 ISO/IEC 15288:2008
Clause Process Clause Process Changes
5 System life cycle processes 6 System life cycle processes
5.1 Introduction Deleted
5.2 Agreement processes 6.1 Agreement processes Numbering
5.2.1 Introduction 6.1 Agreement processes Combined into
6.1; deleted
separate clause
5.2.2 Acquisition process 6.1.1 Acquisition process Numbering
5.2.3 Supply process 6.1.2 Supply process Numbering
5.3 Enterprise processes 6.2 Organizational project- Topic and title
enabling processes revised;
numbering
5.3.1 Introduction 6.2 Organizational project- Combined into
enabling processes 6.2; deleted
separate clause
5.3.2 Enterprise environment 6.2.2 Infrastructure management Topic and title
management process process revised;
numbering
5.3.3 Investment management 6.2.3 Project portfolio management Topic and title
process process revised;
numbering
4 © ISO/IEC 2011 – All rights reserved

ISO/IEC 15288:2002 ISO/IEC 15288:2008
5.3.4 System life cycle processes 6.2.1 Life cycle model management Title revised;
management process process numbering
5.3.5 Resource management 6.2.2 Infrastructure management Separated human
process process resources from
other resources;
6.2.4 Human resource management
numbering
process
5.3.6 Quality management process 6.2.5 Quality management process Numbering
5.4 Project processes 6.3 Project processes Numbering
5.4.1 Introduction 6.3 Project processes Combined into
6.3; deleted
separate clause
5.4.2 Project planning process 6.3.1 Project planning process Numbering
5.4.3 Project assessment process 6.3.2 Project assessment and Processes
control process merged;
5.4.4 Project control process
numbering
5.4.5 Decision-making process 6.3.3 Decision management Title revised;
process numbering
5.4.6 Risk management process 6.3.4 Risk management process Numbering
5.4.7 Configuration management 6.3.5 Configuration management Numbering
process process
5.4.8 Information management 6.3.6 Information management Numbering
process process
6.3.7Measurement processAdded
5.5 Technical processes 6.4 Technical processes Numbering
5.5.1 Introduction 6.4 Technical processes Combined into
6.4; deleted
separate clause
5.5.2 Stakeholder requirements 6.4.1 Stakeholder requirements Numbering
definition process definition process
5.5.3 Requirements analysis 6.4.2 Requirements analysis Numbering
process process
5.5.4 Architectural design process 6.4.3 Architectural design process Numbering
5.5.5 Implementation process 6.4.4 Implementation process Numbering
5.5.6 Integration process 6.4.5 Integration process Numbering
5.5.7 Verification process 6.4.6 Verification process Numbering
5.5.8 Transition process 6.4.7 Transition process Numbering
5.5.9 Validation process 6.4.8 Validation process Numbering
5.5.10 Operation process 6.4.9 Operation process Numbering
5.5.11 Maintenance process 6.4.10 Maintenance process Numbering
5.5.12 Disposal process 6.4.11 Disposal process Numbering
Annex A Tailoring process Annex A Tailoring Title revised
Figure 2 — Mapping of process clause sets between ISO/IEC 15288:2002 and ISO/IEC 15288:2008
4 Application concepts
4.1 Overview
This Technical Report provides guidelines for life cycle management in the field of systems. This clause
highlights and explains essential concepts on which this Technical Report is based, and introduces key
concepts useful in reading and applying ISO/IEC 15288:2008.
NOTE ISO/IEC TR 24748-1 provides more information on concepts related to life cycle management in general.
© ISO/IEC 2011 – All rights reserved 5

4.2 System concepts
Application of ISO/IEC 15288 presupposes an understanding of system concepts. System concepts for
systems that are any mix of products and services are introduced in ISO/IEC 15288, clause 5.1. Additional
discussion is in ISO/IEC TR 24748-1, clause 3.1.
4.3 Life cycle concepts
Application of ISO/IEC 15288 presupposes an understanding of life cycle concepts.
NOTE Life cycle concepts are introduced in ISO/IEC 15288, clause 5.2. Additional discussion is in
ISO/IEC TR 24748-1 clause 3.2.
4.4 Process concepts
4.4.1 General
4.4.1.1 Introduction
Application of ISO/IEC 15288 presupposes an understanding of process concepts.
NOTE 1 Process concepts are introduced in ISO/IEC 15288, clause 5.3. Additional discussion is in
ISO/IEC TR 24748-1 clause 3.3.
The focus of ISO/IEC 15288:2008 is on the processes that are applied within a life cycle. The processes can
be used by organizations (for example functional organizations and projects) that play the role of acquirer,
supplier (for example main contractor, subcontractor, or service provider) or management to fulfil
responsibilities pertaining to the system-of-interest. Additionally, the processes in ISO/IEC 15288:2008 can be
used as a reference model for assessments under ISO/IEC 15504.
A process is an integrated set of activities that transform inputs (for example a set of data such as
requirements) into desired outputs (for example a set of data describing a desired solution). An activity is a set
of cohesive tasks. A task is a requirement, recommendation, or permissible action, intended to contribute to
the achievement of one or more outcomes of a process.
A task is expressed in the form of a requirement, self-declaration, recommendation, or permissible action. For
this purpose, Note 3 of Clause 2.3 in International Standard ISO/IEC 15288:2008 carefully employs certain
auxiliary verbs to differentiate between the forms of tasks:
 “Shall” is used to express a requirement of ISO/IEC 15288:2008;
 “Should” to express a recommendation;
 “May” to indicate permission.
Within a life cycle stage, processes are performed as required to achieve stated objectives. The progression
of a system through its life is the result of actions managed and performed by people in one or more
organizations using the processes selected for a life cycle stage.
NOTE 2 Process concepts are introduced in ISO/IEC 15288, clause 5.3, ISO/IEC 12207, clauses 5.1.9 and 5.1.10, and
ISO/IEC TR 24748-1, clause 3.3.
NOTE 3 Criteria for processes are discussed in ISO/IEC 12207, clause 5.1.8, and the decomposition of processes are
discussed in clause 5.1.11. ISO/IEC 15288 does not contain corresponding material.
Figure 3 illustrates example inputs and outputs of a process for engineering a system. The inputs can be
either converted to desired outputs or can enable or control the conversion. Each set of these process inputs
and outputs needs to be defined and managed.
6 © ISO/IEC 2011 – All rights reserved

CONCONTTROROLSLS
DireDirectivctiveess
CConstronstraiaintsnts
OUOUTTPPUUTTSS
ININPUPUTTSS
ProcProcessed dataessed data
DaDattaa
ProcessProcess
ProduProducts andcts and
MaMatteeriariall
serservviciceses
ENENAABBLINGLING ME MECHCHAANNISMSISMS
RResouresources (ices (infrasnfrasttrructuructure and e and wwoorrkkforforcce)e)
ToolsTools
TTechnolechnologiesogies
Figure 3 — Example process inputs and outputs
4.4.1.2 Inputs
Inputs can come from outside an organization or project, or from other processes that precede or accompany
the process being examined. Examples of inputs to a process include:
a) Information, such as requirements, interface or architecture definitions.
b) Data, such as measurements and test reports.
c) Material that either ends up in the output or is consumed in producing the output.
d) Services that are part of a chain of services, such as setting up a computer prior to, or coincident with
establishing an account.
4.4.1.3 Outputs
Outputs can go to other processes or back to the same process (recursive processing) inside the organization,
project (or both), or they can go outside the project or organization, or both. Examples of outputs parallels the
examples given for inputs in 4.4.1.1. However, the outputs are often (but not necessarily) transformed in some
way by the process being examined.
4.4.1.4 Controls
Processes can be controlled by organizational or organization management directives and constraints and by
governmental regulations and laws. Examples of such controls on a process include:
a) The project agreement.
b) The interfaces with processes used on other systems for which the project is responsible (see Clause
4.6.3 of this Technical Report).
c) The applicable system life cycle stage or stages.
d) Internal standard practices of the organization, or the part of the organization that has project
responsibility.
4.4.1.5 Enabling Mechanisms
Each process can have a set of process enabling mechanisms such as listed below.
© ISO/IEC 2011 – All rights reserved 7

a) The workforce that performs the tasks related to the process.
b) Other resources required by the process such as facilities, equipment and funds.
c) Tools (for example software and hardware, automated, manual) required for performing the process
activities.
d) Technologies required by persons performing the activities including methods, procedures and
techniques
4.4.2 Process principles
4.4.2.1 Introduction
ISO/IEC 15288:2008 establishes a top-level architecture of the life cycle of systems from conception through
retirement. The architecture is constructed with a set of processes and interrelationships among these
processes. The processes are based on two primary principles: modularity and responsibility.
4.4.2.2 Modularity
The processes are modular, in that they are:
a) Strongly cohesive: All the parts of a process are strongly related. This reduces the dependency of one
process on others, which in turn increases the efficiency with which the process can be executed;
b) Loosely coupled: The number of interfaces among the processes is kept to a minimum, which reduces
the amount of communication required for each process to successfully complete.
In principle, each process is dedicated to a unique function at each usage in a given stage of the life cycle and
may employ another process for a specialized function. The following presents the rules for identifying,
scoping, and structuring processes:
a) A process must be modular i.e. one process should perform one and only one function within the life
cycle and the interfaces between any two processes should be minimal;
b) Each process is invoked in the architecture;
c) If a process A is invoked by a process B and only process B, then A belongs to B;
d) If a function is invoked by more than one process, then the function becomes a process in itself;
e) It must be possible to verify any function within the life cycle model;
f) Each process should have an internal structure defined sufficiently to be executable.
4.4.2.3 Responsibility
The principle of responsibility is closely linked to the concept of an organization. Each process is considered
the responsibility of an organization (or party). An organization may perform one or more processes. A
process may be performed by one organization or more than one organization, with one of the organizations
being identified as the responsible party. A party executing a process has the responsibility for that entire
process even though the execution of individual tasks may be by different people.
The responsibility principle facilitates tailoring and application of ISO/IEC 15288:2008 on a project, in which
many persons may be legitimately involved.
NOTE 1 ISO/IEC TR 24748-1, clause 3.3.2 provides more information on process responsibility.
8 © ISO/IEC 2011 – All rights reserved

NOTE 2 Organizations and parties are discussed in clause 4.6 of this Technical Report.
4.4.3 Process categories of ISO/IEC 15288:2008
The four process groups of ISO/IEC 15288 as well as the primary relationships between the groups are
portrayed in Figure 4. The role of the Organizational Project-enabling and Project groups of processes is to
achieve the project goals within applicable life cycle stages to satisfy an agreement. Organizational Project-
Enabling processes provide enabling resources and infrastructure that are used to create, support, and
monitor projects and to assess project effectiveness. The project processes ensure that adequate planning,
assessment, and control activities are performed to manage processes and life cycle stages.
Appropriate processes are selected from the Technical Processes and used to populate projects in order for
the project to perform life cycle related work.
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Figure 4 — Role of the ISO/IEC 15288:2008 processes
Projects may need to establish relationships with other projects within the organization, as well as those in
other organizations. Such relationships are established through the agreement processes of acquisition and
supply as shown in Figure 5. The degree of formality of the agreement is adapted to the internal or external
business relationships between projects. An example and discussion of the use of the agreement processes is
provided in Clause 5.4.2 of this Technical Report.
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Figure 5 — Use of agreement processes
© ISO/IEC 2011 – All rights reserved 9

4.4.4 Recursive/iterative application of processes
4.4.4.1 General
Two forms of process application – recursive and iterative – are essential and useful for executing the
requirements of ISO/IEC 15288:2008.
4.4.4.2 Recursive application of processes
When the same set of processes or the same set of process activities are applied to successive levels of
system elements within the system structure, the application form is referred to as recursive. The outcomes
from one application are used as inputs to the next lower (or higher) system element in the system structure to
arrive at a more detailed or mature set of outcomes. Such an approach adds value to successive parts of the
system structure. Figure 6 illustrates the recursive application of processes to systems from the top down.
Stakeholder Requirements
Definition Process
Applied to
Outcomes flow to
Requirements Analysis Applied to
System-Sysof-inttem erest
Process
Outcomes used for
Applied to
Architecture Design Process
Outcomes flow to
Value added to system
elements of the
by definition of its lower
system
level system elements
Stakeholder Requirements
Definition Process
Applied to
Outcomes flow to
Requirements Analysis Applied to
SystSystem elementsem-of-interest
Process
Outcomes used for
Applied to
Architecture Design Process
Figure 6 — Recursive application of processes
10 © ISO/IEC 2011 – All rights reserved

4.4.4.3 Iterative application of processes
When the application of the same process or set of processes is repeated on the same system, the
application is referred to as iterative. Iteration is not only appropriate but also expected. New information is
created by the application of a process or set of processes. Typically this information takes the form of
questions with respect to requirements, analyzed risks or opportunities. Such questions should be resolved
before completing the activities of a process or set of processes. When re-application of activities or
processes can resolve the questions, then it is useful to do so. Iteration can be required to ensure that
information with admissible quality is used prior to applying the next process or set of activities to a system-of-
interest. In this case iteration adds value to the system to which the processes are being used. The iterative
application of processes is illustrated in Figure 7.
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...