My last two entries discussed, respectively, the ISO 19770-1 Organizational Management Processes and Core Processes for SAM. Last in the series is the “Primary Process Interfaces for SAM” subset, which consists of processes specifically related to management and review of the software lifecycle itself. As such, it is designed to align SAM requirements with lifecycle processes specified in ISO 12207 (defining tasks required for developing and maintaining software) and ISO 20000 (defining tasks required for effective service management).
The lifecycle processes specified in ISO 19770-1 are designed to allow an organization first to identify and manage software changes at a fairly high level and then to specify the details of each “waypoint” in the software lifecycle identified in the standard. Those waypoints progress fairly logically from acquisition and development, to release and deployment, to incident and problem management, and finally to retirement.
As with all of the other processes specified by ISO 19770-1, it is important to keep in mind that the word “specified,” when it comes to this standard, is somewhat of a term of art. ISO 19770-1 lists out the process that an organization should implement and the goals that the organization should have in mind in doing so. However, it leaves the specifics of implementing those processes up to the organization seeking to achieve compliance. There are no ISO 19770-1-approved checklists or schedules included with the standard itself, leaving each organization more or less free to tailor the processes to its own unique set of demands and resources.
You can obtain a copy of the standard here. As I write this, the price is CHF 108.00, which translates into about $90 USD.