Report on Development of ISO Standard 15288 System Life Cycle Processes

Abstract

ABSTRACTSince the late 1980s there has been a focused effort to produce standards, guides, and models that will enhance the development of systems. With the deemphasis of military standards within the US Department of Defense, these efforts by US and international standard bodies have been further stimulated.In 1994 the US published interim standard EIA/IS 632, Systems Engineering, and IEEE 1220 Trial‐Use Standard, Application and Management of the Systems Engineering Process. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has also been creating a series of standards and guides. ISO/IEC 12207, Software Life Cycle Processes, is one such standard published in 1995. Additional ISO guides and national implementations standards pertaining to 12207 are under preparation. Also in 1995, the same ISO working group that developed 12207 has undertaken the development of a system standard to be known as 15288, System Life Cycle Processes. And in 1996, the United Kingdom Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) prepared a draft guide with a system model that provides an excellent framework for engineering a system.This paper puts these and other efforts into perspective. The focus is on the 15288 development.