BS ISO/IEC BRITISH STANDARD 15504-4:2004 Information technology - Process assessment Part 4: Guidance on use for process improvement and process capability determination ICS 35.080 BSi NOCOPYINGWITHOUTBSIPERMISSIONEXCEPTASPERMITTEDBYCOPYRIGHTLAW British Standards BSISO/IEC15504-4:2004 National foreword This British Standard reproduces verbatim IS0/IEC 15504-4:2004 and implements it as the UK national standard. It supersedes BS ISO/IEC TR 15504-4:1998 which is withdrawn The UK participation in its preparation was entrusted to Technical Committee IST/15, Software Engineering, which has the responsibility to: aid enquirers to understand the text; present to the responsible international/European committee any enquiries on the interpretation, or proposals for change, and keep the UK interests informed; monitor related international and European developments and promulgate them in the UK. A list of organizations represented on this committee can be obtained on request to its secretary. Cross-references The British Standards which implement international or European publications referred to in this document may be found in the BSI Catalogue under the section entitled "International Standards Correspondence Index", or by using the“Search"facility of the BSI Electronic Catalogue or of British Standards Online. This publication does not purport to include all the necessary provisions of a contract. Users are responsible for its correct application. Compliance with a British Standard does not ofitself confer immunity fromlegal obligations. Summary of pages This document comprises a front cover, an inside front cover, the ISO/IEC title page, pages i to vi, pages 1 to 33 and a back cover. The BSI copyright notice displayed in this document indicates when the document was last issued. This British Standard was published under the authority of the Standards Policy and Strategy Committee on Amendments issued since publication 14July 2004 Amd. No. Date Comments C BSI 14 July 2004 ISBN 0 580440435 BSIS0/IEC15504-4:2004 INTERNATIONAL ISO/IEC STANDARD 15504-4 First edition 2004-07-01 Information technology Process assessment- Part 4: Guidance on use for process improvement and process capability determination TechnologiesdeI'information-Procédésd'évaluation- Partie 4: Conseils sur I'utilisation pour Iamelioration de processus et la determinationde capacite deprocessus Reference number ISO/IEC 15504-4:2004(E) EC BS IS0/IEC 15504-4:2004 BSIS0/IEC15504-4:2004 Contents Page Foreword. Introduction ... vi 1 Scope.. 2 Normative references... 3 Terms and definitions. 4 Introduction.. 4.1 Process improvement and process capability determination... 4.2 PI and PcD sponsors and teams... 4.3 Process, guidance and method.. 4.4 Process improvement-purposeandoutcomes. 4.5 Process capability determination purposeandoutcomes 4.6 Process assessment output .... 5 Utilizing process assessment... 5.1 General. 5.2 Selecting Process Reference Model(s). 5.3 Setting target capability ..... 5.4 Defining the assessment input.. 5.5 Evaluating process-related risk... 5.5.1 Inferringprocess-relatedriskfromassessmentoutput 5.5.2 Analysing weaknesses... 6 Process improvement... 10 6.1 Overview.... 10 6.2 Steps ofprocess improvement 6.2.1 Step1-Examineorganization'sbusinessgoals 10 6.2.2 Step2-Initiateprocess improvementcycle. 6.2.3 Step 3 - Assess current capability.. 12 6.2.4 Step 4 -- Develop action plan ... 12 6.2.5 Step5-Implement improvements.... 15 6.2.6 Step 6 - Confirm improvements... 16 6.2.7 Step 7 - Sustain improvements... 6.2.8 Step 8 - Monitor performance .... 7 7 Process capability determination. 18 7.1 18 7.2 Steps of process capability determination... 19 7.2.1 Step1-Initiateprocesscapabilitydetermination 19 7.2.2 20 7.2.3 Step3-Assess current capability. 20 7.2.4 Step 4-Determine proposed capability.. 20 7.2.5 Step5-Verifyproposed capability. 21 7.2.6 Step 6 -Analyse process-related risk 7.2.7 Step 7 - Act on results ... 21 7.3 Comparability ofassessment outpu