ISO/IEC TR 29110-1:2011

TECHNICAL ISO/IEC
REPORT TR
29110-1
First edition
2011-09-01


Software engineering — Lifecycle profiles
for Very Small Entities (VSEs) —
Part 1:
Overview
Ingénierie du logiciel — Profils de cycle de vie pour très petits
organismes (TPO) —
Partie 1: Aperçu général




Reference number
ISO/IEC TR 29110-1:2011(E)
©
ISO/IEC 2011

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ISO/IEC TR 29110-1:2011(E)

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©  ISO/IEC 2011
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ISO/IEC TR 29110-1:2011(E)
Contents Page
Foreword . v
Introduction . vi
1  Scope . 1
1.1  Fields of application . 1
1.2  Target audience . 1
2  Terms and definitions . 1
3  Conventions and abbreviated terms . 6
3.1  Naming, diagramming and definition conventions . 6
3.2  Abbreviations . 7
4  VSE Characteristics and VSE Potential Benefits . 7
4.1  General . 7
4.2  VSE Characteristics . 7
4.3  VSE Potential Benefits . 7
5  Lifecycle Process Concepts . 7
5.1  Introduction . 7
5.2  Lifecycle Models and Stages . 7
5.3  Lifecycle Product Types . 8
6  Process Improvement and Assessment Concepts . 9
6.1  Process Improvement Concepts . 9
6.2  Assessment Concepts . 9
7  Standardization Concepts . 9
7.1  Introduction . 9
7.2  Standard . 9
7.3  Technical Reports . 10
7.4  Profile. 10
7.5  Profile Group . 10
7.6  Generic Profile Group . 10
7.7  Guides. 10
7.8  Use of Profiles . 10
7.9  Conformance to Profiles . 11
8  ISO/IEC 29110 series . 11
8.1  Introduction . 11
8.2  Overview . 11
8.3  VSE Profiles . 11
8.3.1  Framework and Taxonomy . 12
8.3.2  Profile Specifications . 12
8.4  Guides. 12
8.4.1  Assessment Guide . 12
8.4.2  Management and Engineering Guides . 12
Annex A (informative) Basic reference works. 13
A.1  Rationale . 13
A.2  Market Study . 13
A.3  Current Standards . 13
Bibliography . 14

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ISO/IEC TR 29110-1:2011(E)
Table of illustrations
Figure 1 — ISO/IEC 29110 series . vii
Table of tables
Table 1 — ISO/IEC 29110 target audience . vi
Table 2 — Lifecycle product types . 8

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ISO/IEC TR 29110-1:2011(E)
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.
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 and IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
ISO/IEC TR 29110-1 was prepared by Joint Technical Committee ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology,
Subcommittee SC 7, Software and systems engineering.
ISO/IEC 29110 consists of the following parts, under the general title Software engineering — Lifecycle
profiles for Very Small Entities (VSEs):
 Part 1: Overview [Technical Report]
 Part 2: Framework and taxonomy
 Part 3: Assessment guide [Technical Report]
 Part 4-1: Profile specifications: Generic profile group
 Part 5-1-2: Management and engineering guide: Generic profile group: Basic profile [Technical Report]
Entry profile, intermediate profile and advanced profile will form the subjects of future Parts 5-1-1, 5-1-3 and
5-1-4, respectively.
Parts 4 and 5 can be developed to accommodate new profile specifications and management and engineering
guides as follows:
 Part 4-m: Profile specifications: Profile group aaaaa
 Part 5-m-n: Management and engineering guide: Profile group aaaaa: Profile bbbbb [Technical Report]
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ISO/IEC TR 29110-1:2011(E)
Introduction
The software industry recognizes the value of Very Small Entities (VSEs) in contributing valuable products
and services. For the purpose of ISO/IEC 29110, a Very Small Entity (VSE) is an entity (enterprise,
organization, department or project) having up to 25 people. VSEs also develop and/or maintain software that
is used in larger systems; therefore, recognition of VSEs as suppliers of high quality software is often required.
According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) SME and
Entrepreneurship Outlook report (2005), ‘SMEs constitute the dominant form of business organization in all
countries world-wide, accounting for over 95 % and up to 99 % of the business population depending on
country’. The challenge facing OECD governments is to provide a business environment that supports the
competitiveness of this large heterogeneous business population and that promotes a vibrant entrepreneurial
culture.
From studies and surveys conducted, it is clear that the majority of International Standards do not address the
needs of VSEs. Conformance with these standards is difficult, if not impossible. Subsequently VSEs have no,
or very limited, ways to be recognized as entities that produce quality software in their domain. Therefore,
VSEs are often cut off from some economic activities.
It has been found that VSEs find it difficult to relate International Standards to their business needs and to
justify the application of the standards to their business practices. Most VSEs can neither afford the resources,
in terms of number of employees, budget and time, nor do they see a net benefit in establishing software
lifecycle processes. To rectify some of these difficulties, a set of guides has been developed according to a
set of VSE characteristics. The guides are based on subsets of appropriate standards elements, referred to as
VSE Profiles. The purpose of a VSE Profile is to define a subset of International Standards relevant to the
VSE context, for example, processes and outcomes of ISO/IEC 12207 and products of ISO/IEC 15289.
ISO/IEC 29110, targeted by audience, has been developed to improve product and/or service quality, and
process performance. See Table 1. ISO/IEC 29110 is not intended to preclude the use of different lifecycles
such as: waterfall, iterative, incremental, evolutionary or agile.
Table 1 — ISO/IEC 29110 target audience
ISO/IEC 29110 Title Target audience
Part 1 Overview VSEs, assessors, standards producers, tool vendors,
and methodology vendors
Part 2 Framework and taxonomy Standards producers, tool vendors and methodology
vendors. Not intended for VSEs.
Part 3 Assessment guide Assessors and VSEs
Part 4 Profile specifications Standards producers, tool vendors and methodology
vendors. Not intended for VSEs.
Part 5 Management and engineering guide VSEs

If a new profile is needed, ISO/IEC 29110-4 and ISO/IEC TR 29110-5 can be developed without impacting
existing documents and they become ISO/IEC 29110-4-m and ISO/IEC 29110-5-m-n, respectively, through
the ISO/IEC process.
This part of ISO/IEC 29110 defines the business terms common to the ISO/IEC 29110 series. It introduces
processes, lifecycle and standardization concepts, and the ISO/IEC 29110 series. It also introduces the
characteristics and requirements of a VSE, and clarifies the rationale for VSE-specific profiles, documents,
standards and guides.
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ISO/IEC TR 29110-1:2011(E)
ISO/IEC 29110-2 introduces the concepts for software engineering standardized profiles for VSEs, and
defines the terms common to the ISO/IEC 29110 series. It establishes the logic behind the definition and
application of standardized profiles. It specifies the elements common to all standardized profiles (structure,
conformance, assessment) and introduces the taxonomy (catalogue) of ISO/IEC 29110 profiles.
ISO/IEC TR 29110-3 defines the process assessment guidelines and compliance requirements needed to
meet the purpose of the defined VSE Profiles. ISO/IEC TR 29110-3 also contains information that can be
useful to developers of assessment methods and assessment tools. ISO/IEC TR 29110-3 is addressed to
people who have direct relation with the assessment process, e.g. the assessor and the sponsor of the
assessment, who need guidance on ensuring that the requirements for performing an assessment have been
met.
ISO/IEC 29110-4-m provides the specification for all the profiles in one profile group that are based on
subsets of appropriate standards elements. VSE Profiles apply and are targeted to authors/providers of
guides and authors/providers of tools and other support material.
ISO/IEC TR 29110-5-m-n provides an implementation management and engineering guide for the VSE Profile
described in ISO/IEC 29110-4-m.
Figure 1 describes the ISO/IEC 29110 series and positions the parts within the framework of reference.
Overviews and guides are published as Technical Reports (TR), and profiles are published as International
Standards (IS).
29110 Overview (TR 29110-1)
29110 Profiles (IS)
Framework and Taxonomy (IS 29110-2)
Specifications of VSE Profiles (IS 29110-4)
Specification - VSE Profile Group m
Specification - VSE Profile Group m
(IS 29110-4-m)
(IS 29110-4-m)
29110 Guides (TR)
Assessment Guide (TR 29110-3)
Management and Engineering Guide (TR 29110-5)
Management and
Management and
Engineering Guide
Engineering Guide
VSE Profile m-n
VSE Profile m-n
(TR 29110-5-m-n)
(TR 29110-5-m-n)

Figure 1 — ISO/IEC 29110 series
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TECHNICAL REPORT ISO/IEC TR 29110-1:2011(E)

Software engineering — Lifecycle profiles for Very Small
Entities (VSEs) —
Part 1:
Overview
1 Scope
1.1 Fields of application
This part of ISO/IEC 29110 introduces the major concepts required to understand and use the ISO/IEC 29110
series. It introduces the characteristics and requirements of a Very Small Entity (VSE), and clarifies the
rationale for VSE-specific profiles, documents, standards and guides.
It also introduces process, lifecycle and standardization concepts and defines the business terms common to
the ISO/IEC 29110 series.
This part of ISO/IEC 29110 is applicable to VSEs. The lifecycle processes described in ISO/IEC 29110 are not
intended to preclude or discourage their use by an entity that is larger than a VSE.
1.2 Target audience
This part of ISO/IEC 29110 is targeted both at the general audience wishing to understand the ISO/IEC 29110
series and more specifically at users of the ISO/IEC 29110 series. It is intended that it be read first when
initially exploring VSE Profile documents. While there is no specific prerequisite to read this part of
ISO/IEC 29110, it will be helpful to the user in understanding the other parts.
The lifecycle processes defined in ISO/IEC 29110 can be used by a VSE when acquiring and using, as well as
when creating and supplying, software. They can be applied at any level in a software system's structure and
at any stage in the lifecycle. They are not intended to preclude or discourage the use of additional processes
that a VSE finds useful.
2 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
2.1
activity
set of cohesive tasks of a process
[ISO/IEC 12207:2008]
2.2
assessment indicator
sources of objective evidence used to support the assessors' judgment in rating process attributes
EXAMPLE Work products, practice, or resource.
[ISO/IEC 15504-1]
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ISO/IEC TR 29110-1:2011(E)
2.3
assessor
individual who participates in the rating of process attributes
[ISO/IEC 15504-1]
2.4
baseline
specification or product that has been formally reviewed and agreed upon, that thereafter serves as the basis
for further development, and that can be changed only through formal change control procedures
[ISO/IEC 12207:2008]
2.5
base standard
approved International Standard or Telecommunication Standardization Sector of the International
Telecommunications Union (ITU-T) Recommendation
[ISO/IEC TR 10000-1]
2.6
competent assessor
assessor who has demonstrated the competencies to conduct an assessment and to monitor and verify the
conformance of a process assessment
[ISO/IEC 15504-1]
2.7
customer
organization or person that receives a product or service
NOTE A customer can be internal or external to the organization.
[ISO/IEC 12207:2008]
2.8
deployment package
set of artefacts developed to facilitate the implementation of a set of practices of the selected framework
2.9
generic profile group
profile group applicable to VSEs that do not develop critical software products and have typical situational
factors
2.10
guide
document published by ISO or IEC giving rules, orientation, advice or recommendations relating to
international standardization
[ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2]
2.11
international standard
standard that is adopted by an international standardizing/standards organization and made available to the
public
[ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2]
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ISO/IEC TR 29110-1:2011(E)
2.12
standardized profile
internationally agreed-to, harmonized standard which describes one or more profiles
NOTE Adapted from the definition of “International Standardized Profile” in ISO/IEC TR 10000-1.
2.13
lifecycle
evolution of a system, product, service, project or other human-made entity from conception through
retirement
[ISO/IEC 12207:2008]
2.14
process
set of interrelated or interacting activities which transforms inputs into outputs
[ISO 9000]
2.15
process assessment
disciplined evaluation of an organizational unit's processes against a Process Assessment Model
[ISO/IEC 15504-1]
2.16
process assessment model
model suitable for the purpose of assessing process capability, based on one or more Process Reference
Models
[ISO/IEC 15504-1]
2.17
process capability
characterization of the ability of a process to meet current or projected business goals
[ISO/IEC 15504-1]
2.18
process capability level
point on the six-point ordinal scale (of process capability) that represents the capability of the process, each
level building on the capability of the level below
[ISO/IEC 15504-1]
2.19
process improvement
actions taken to change an organization's processes so that they more effectively and/or efficiently meet the
organization's business goals
[ISO/IEC 15504-1]
2.20
process outcome
observable result of a process
[ISO/IEC 15504-1]
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ISO/IEC TR 29110-1:2011(E)
2.21
process profile
set of process attribute ratings for an assessed process
[ISO/IEC 15504-1]
2.22
process reference model
model comprising definitions of processes in a lifecycle described in terms of process purpose and outcomes,
together with an architecture describing the relationships between the processes
[ISO/IEC 15504-1]
2.23
profile
set of one or more base standards and/or profiles and, where applicable, the identification of chosen classes,
conforming subsets, options and parameters of those base standards or standardized profiles necessary to
accomplish a particular function
[ISO/IEC TR 10000-1]
2.24
profile group
collection of profiles which are related by composition of processes (i.e. activities, tasks) or by capability level,
or both
2.25
project
endeavour with defined start and finish dates undertaken to create a product or service in accordance with
specified resources and requirements
[ISO/IEC 12207:2008]
2.26
record
document stating results achieved or providing evidence of activities performed
[ISO/IEC 20000-1]
2.27
report
information item that describes the results of activities such as investigations, assessments, and tests
[ISO/IEC 15289:2006]
2.28
repository
collection of all software-related artefacts belonging to a system or the location/format in which such a
collection is stored
[ISO/IEC/IEEE 24765]
2.29
resource
asset that is utilized or consumed during the execution of a process
[ISO/IEC 12207:2008]
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ISO/IEC TR 29110-1:2011(E)
2.30
review
process or meeting during which a software product is presented to project personnel, managers, users,
customers, user representatives, or other interested parties for comment or approval
[IEEE Std 1028]
2.31
software
computer programs, procedures, and possibly associated documentation and data pertaining to the operation
of a computer system
[IEEE Std 829]
2.32
software component
software system or element, such as module, unit, data, or document
[IEEE Std 1061]
2.33
standard
document, established by consensus and approved by a recognized body, that provides, for common and
repeated use, rules, guidelines or characteristics for activities or their results, aimed at the achievement of the
optimum degree of order in a given context
NOTE Standards should be based on the consolidated results of science, technology and experience, and aimed at
the promotion of optimum community benefits.
[ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2]
2.34
taxonomy
classification scheme for referencing profiles or sets of profiles unambiguously
[ISO/IEC TR 10000-1]
2.35
Technical Report
document published by ISO or IEC containing collected data of a different kind from that normally published
as an International Standard or Technical Specification
[ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2]
NOTE Such data may include, for example, data obtained from a survey carried out among the national bodies, data
on work in other international organizations or data on the “state of the art” in relation to standards of national bodies on a
particular subject.
2.36
traceability record
work product that
 identifies requirements to be traced,
 identifies a mapping of requirement to lifecycle work products,
 provides the linkage of requirements to work product decomposition (i.e. requirement, design, code, test,
deliverables, etc.),
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ISO/IEC TR 29110-1:2011(E)
 provides forward and backwards mapping of requirements to associated work products throughout all
phases of the lifecycle
NOTE 1 This may be included as a function of another defined work product (example: A CASE tool for design
decomposition may have a mapping ability as part of its features).
NOTE 2 Definition taken from ISO/IEC 15504-5:2006, Annex B.
2.37
task
requirement, recommendation or permissible action intended to contribute to the achievement of one or more
outcomes of a process
[ISO/IEC 12207:2008]
2.38
user
individual or group that benefits from a system during its utilization
[ISO/IEC 12207:2008]
2.39
validation
confirmation, through the provision of objective evidence, that the requirements for a specific intended use or
application have been fulfilled
[ISO 9000]
NOTE Validation in a lifecycle context is the set of activities ensuring and gaining confidence that a system is able to
accomplish its intended use, goals and objectives.
2.40
verification
confirmation, through the provision of objective evidence, that specified requirements have been fulfilled
[ISO 9000]
NOTE Verification in a lifecycle context is a set of activities that compares a product of the lifecycle against the
required characteristics for that product. This may include, but is not limited to, specified requirements, design description
and the system itself.
2.41
very small entity
VSE
entity (enterprise, organization, department or project) having up to 25 people
2.42
work product
artefact associated with the execution of a process
[ISO/IEC 15504-1]
3 Conventions and abbreviated terms
3.1 Naming, diagramming and definition conventions
None.
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ISO/IEC TR 29110-1:2011(E)
3.2 Abbreviations
VSE Very Small Entity
VSEs Very Small Entities
4 VSE Characteristics and VSE Potential Benefits
4.1 General
A VSE is considered to be an entity that engages in software implementation activities regardless of its legal
form. An entity can be an organization (registered or non-registered), a group within an organization, or a
project within an organization. Organization can mean an independent partnership or linked organization
having up to 25 people that is engaged in a software implementation project. Annex A provides more basic
information.
4.2 VSE Characteristics
VSEs are subject to a number of characteristics, needs and desirable competencies that affect the contents,
the nature and the extent of their activities. The VSE Profiles address VSEs which are described through the
following characteristics, needs and desirable competencies, classified in four categories: Finance and
Resources, Customer Interface, Internal Business Processes and Learning and Growth.
In some cases, a VSE is expected to perform limited missions in the entire software development lifecycle
under the directions of either another company or consortium fulfilling contract or agreement requirements.
These missions may be a part of the software implementation project according to the statement of work. The
VSE is chosen by its own competencies or by a bid for the project. Amplification of these characteristics is
provided in ISO/IEC 29110-4 set of documents.
4.3 VSE Potential Benefits
From the VSE perspective, some benefits considered for using the ISO/IEC 29110 series include good
internal software management processes, greater customer confidence and satisfaction, greater software
product quality, increased sponsorship for process improvement and decreased development risk. These
benefits might also help with increased competitiveness and market share.
5 Lifecycle Process Concepts
5.1 Introduction
This clause provides lifecycle process
...