Software Process Standards and Organizations

Standards

DOD 2167A (Updated DIDs July 2000)
MIL-STD-498 Standard (PDF)
MIL-STD-498 Roadmap (PDF)
Index of 498 PDFs
IDEF

Organizations

International Standards Organization

The ISO has the 9000 family of standards for quality management and quailty assurance. These represent an international consensus on the essential features of systems to ensure effective operation. Readings on ISO 9000 are available via a TQM gopher site maintained at Clemson University. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has a Q&A paper regarding ISO 9000, system registration, and other issues.

SPICE (Software Process Improvement and Capability dEtermination) (PDF) is a project of the International Committee on Software Engineering Standards ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC7, through its Working Group on Software Process Assessment. The Standard deals with software processes such as development, management, customer support, and quality. It is also concerned with people and technology transfer. A SPICE site is maintained at Griffith University, Australia.

European Software Institute

The European Software Institute is a major industry initiative, founded by leading European companies, to improve the competitiveness of the European Software Industry, including both suppliers and users. To this end ESI promotes and disseminates good software management practice. The European Software Institute is supported by the European Commission and the Basque Government.

Since 1993, the SPICE (Software Process Improvement and Capability dEtermination) project, launched within the International Standards Organisation (ISO) has been developing a framework standard for software process assessment, bringing together the major suppliers and users of assessment methods. The field trials of SPICE-based assessment are getting underway from the beginning of 1995.

ESI, as a partner in SPICE, is taking a leading role in the European trialling and subsequent standardisation of SPICE. European IT users and suppliers involved in the trials will get early access to this important new ISO standard, as well as the possibility to influence its evolution. At the same time, ESI will provide help and guidance to those organisations starting an improvement programme.

By furthering the movement towards international standards through Spice, ESI is helping European industry to compete in the global marketplace.

National Institute of Standards and Technology (US)

National Standards Systems Network (US)