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ISO/IEC 33001 provides a general introduction to the concepts of process assessment and a glossary for assessment related terms.It describes how the parts of the suite fit together, and provides guidance for their selection and use. It explains the requirements contained within the suite of standards for Process Assessment, and their applicability to performing assessments.
Concepts addressed in this document:
The material in the document is ordered as follows.
1 Scope
2 Normative Reference
3 Terms and definitions
4 Structure of the Set of Standards
5 Concepts
5.1 General
5.2 Concepts of "Process"
5.3 The Assessment Framework
5.3.1 Measuring Process Characteristics
5.3.2 Process Reference Models
5.3.3 Process Assessment Models
5.3.4 The Assessment Process
5.4 Organizational Maturity
5.5 Competency of Assessors
5.6 Application of Assessment Results
5.6.1 Improving performance
5.6.2 Evaluating process-related risk
5.6.3 Benchmarking performance
6 Assessment of Process Capability
7 Conformance
8 Conformity Assessment
Half of the document is taken up with the definition of terms used in other parts of the ISO/IEC 33000 series. The remaining sections provide a brief overview of the benefit for the first-time reader of the key concepts that will be dealt with at length in other parts of this standard series.
Current activities:
This document was released in late January 2012 in ISO/IEC JTC1 SC7 (Software and Systems Engineering) for a 3 month National Body ballot. Comments will be considered at the next SC7 Plenary meeting scheduled for the third week of May 2012 in South Korea. It is most likely that a DIS (draft international standard) version of the document will be released in late June/early July 2012. Since a DIS has a 5 month ballot associated with it, it is unlikely that National Body comment will be considered at the SC7 Interim meeting scheduled for the second week of November 2012. In view of this, comments are likely to be considered at the next SC7 Plenary meeting scheduled for May 2013. Publication is likely to take place in late 2013 or early 2014.