Courtesy: ISO 33001:2015 Information technology process assessment concepts and terminology
ISO/IEC 33001:2015 provides a repository for key terminology relating to process assessment. It gives overall information on the concepts of process assessment, the application of process assessment for evaluating the achievement of process quality characteristics, and the application of the results of process assessment to the conduct of process management. ISO/IEC 33001:2015 provides an introduction to the ISO/IEC 330xx family of standards for process assessment; it describes how the parts of the family of standards for process assessment fit together and provides guidance for their selection and use. It explains the requirements contained within the suite and their applicability to performing assessments.
Process assessment is a disciplined evaluation of an organizational unit’s processes against a
process assessment model.
The Automotive SPICE process assessment model (PAM) is intended for use when performing
conformant assessments of the process capability on the development of embedded automotive
systems. It was developed in accordance with the requirements of ISO/IEC 33004.
Automotive SPICE has its own process reference model (PRM), which was developed based on the
Automotive SPICE process reference model 4.5. It was further developed and tailored considering
the specific needs of the automotive industry. If processes beyond the scope of Automotive SPICE
are needed, appropriate processes from other process reference models such as ISO/IEC 12207 or
ISO/IEC 15288 may be added based on the business needs of the organization.
The PRM is incorporated in this document and is used in conjunction with the Automotive SPICE
process assessment model when performing an assessment.
This Automotive SPICE process assessment model contains a set of indicators to be considered
when interpreting the intent of the Automotive SPICE process reference model. These indicators
may also be used when implementing a process improvement program subsequent to an
assessment.
Rating and aggregation method
ISO/IEC 33020 provides the following definitions:
A process outcome is the observable result of successful achievement of the process purpose.
A process attribute outcome is the observable result of achievement of a specified process
attribute.
Process outcomes and process attribute outcomes may be characterised as an intermediate step
to providing a process attribute rating.
When performing rating, the rating method employed shall be specified relevant to the class of
assessment. The following rating methods are defined.
The use of rating method may vary according to the class, scope and context of an assessment.
The lead assessor shall decide which (if any) rating method to use. The selected rating method(s)
shall be specified in the assessment input and referenced in the assessment report.