CSA Preface

Standards development within the Information Technology sector is harmonized with international standards development. Through the CSA Technical Committee on Information Technology (TCIT), Canadians serve as the SCC Mirror Committee (SMC) on ISO/IEC Joint Technical Committee 1 on Information Technology (ISO/IEC JTC1) for the Standards Council of Canada (SCC), the ISO member body for Canada and sponsor of the Canadian National Committee of the IEC. Also, as a member of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Canada participates in the International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee (ITU-T).

Scope

This Technical Specification provides guidelines for the life cycle management of systems and software, complementing the processes described in ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288 and ISO/IEC 12207. This Technical Specification:

– addresses systems concepts and life cycle concepts, models, stages, processes, process application, key points of view, adaptation and use in various domains and by various disciplines;

– establishes a common framework for describing life cycles, including their individual stages, for the management of projects to provide, or acquire either products or services;

– defines the concept and terminology of a life cycle;

– supports the use of the life cycle processes within an organization or a project. Organizations and projects can use these life cycle concepts when acquiring and supplying either products or services;

– provides guidance on adapting a life cycle model and the content associated with a life cycle or a part of a life cycle;

– describes the relationship between life cycles and their use in applying the processes in ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288 (systems aspects) and ISO/IEC 12207 (software aspects);

– shows the relationships of life cycle concepts to the hardware, human, services, process, procedure, facility and naturally occurring entity aspects of projects; and

– describes how its concepts relate to detailed process standards, for example, in the areas of measurement, project management and risk management.