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To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2007.01.045 Byline: Terence P. Rout (a), Khaled El Emam (b), Mario Fusani (c), Dennis Goldenson (d), Ho-Won Jung (e) Keywords: Process assessment; Process improvement; Standardisation Abstract: The SPICE Project was established in 1993 to support the development, validation and transition into use of an International Standard for software process assessment. Its efforts have resulted in the publication of a five-part Standard for Process Assessment, ISO/IEC 15504. This paper reviews the evolution of the Standard, and reflects on the parallel achievements of the SPICE Project and the standardisation effort in advancing the state of the art in process assessment and improvement. Author Affiliation: (a) Software Quality Institute, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia (b) University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada (c) ISTI-CNR, National Research Council, Pisa, Italy (d) Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA (e) College of Business Administration, Korea University, Seoul, South Korea Article History: Received 1 June 2006; Revised 10 January 2007; Accepted 10 January 2007

The requirements for conformance of a process model to the international standard for process assessment, ISO/IEC 15504, cover a broad range. The most significant of these is the need to establish a complete and unambiguous mapping between the Process Assessment Model and the relevant Process Reference Model and the Measurement Framework described in the Standard. This is required to support the development of a mechanism for translating the outputs from an assessment using the Process Assessment Model into the standard process profiles defined in ISO/IEC 15504. This article reports the results of an analysis of the relationship between CMMI®, as a ‘candidate conformant Process Assessment Model’, relative to the Measurement Framework defined in ISO/IEC 15504-2, and the Process Reference Model described in ISO/IEC 12207 Amd 1/2. It is shown that, while in general terms a complete mapping can be established, there are specific areas where coverage is weak. Use of CMMI as a Process Assessment Model in ISO/IEC 15504 Conformant assessments will need to take account of these issues. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes the work currently being undertaken to help ISO/IEC TR 15504 progress to the status of a full International Standard, and outlines the changes in design that are to be incorporated in the revision. It describes the inputs for the design decisions that were taken; identifies the fundamental changes in the architecture of the Standard; and briefly describes the current status of the development of the Standard. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A framework is presented which forms the basis for a standard for software process assessment. The framework comprises a defined architecture for the processes associated with software processes, together with a prescribed set of criteria for performing assessments. An important part of the framework is the requirement for tool support for assessment, giving increased objectivity and maximizing repeatability and comparability of assessment results. The framework is to be validated by empirical case studies as part of the SPICE project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses various reports published within the issue, including one by Tom McBride on the measurement framework as part of the International Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC) 15504, one on Fergal McCaffery and Alec Dorling on domain-specific process assessment model, and one on Risto Nevalainen and Tomas Schweigert on European scheme for certification of software process improvement professionals.

The article discusses various reports published within the issue, including the article "An industrial experience in assessing the capability of non-software processes using ISO/IEC 15 504," by Antonio Coletta.