ISO/IEC 29110-4-2:2021

INTERNATIONAL ISO/IEC
STANDARD 29110-4-2
First edition
2021-03
Systems and software engineering —
Lifecycle profiles for Very Small
Entities (VSEs) —
Part 4-2:
Software engineering: Profile
specifications: Organizational
management profile group
Reference number
©
ISO/IEC 2021
© ISO/IEC 2021
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ii © ISO/IEC 2021 – All rights reserved

Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms, definitions and abbreviated terms . 1
3.1 Terms and definitions . 1
3.2 Abbreviated terms . 2
4 Conformance . 2
4.1 Conformance situations . 2
4.2 Process conformance . 3
5 Naming, diagramming and definition conventions . 3
6 Minimal conditions for organizational management profile use . 3
7 Organizational management profile specifications . 3
7.1 General . 3
7.2 Organizational management process requirements . 3
7.3 Resource management process requirements . 4
7.4 Process management process requirements . 4
7.5 Project portfolio management process requirements . 4
Annex A (informative) Organizational management profile base document references .6
Annex B (informative) Organizational management profile PRM .12
Bibliography .16
© ISO/IEC 2021 – All rights reserved iii

Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (the International Electrotechnical
Commission) form the specialized system for worldwide standardization. National bodies that
are members of ISO or IEC participate in the development of International Standards through
technical committees established by the respective organization to deal with particular fields of
technical activity. ISO and IEC technical committees collaborate in fields of mutual interest. Other
international organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO and IEC, also
take part in the work.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for
the different types of document should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www .iso .org/ directives or www .iec .ch/ members
_experts/ refdocs).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject
of patent rights. ISO and IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent
rights. Details of any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the
Introduction and/or on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www .iso .org/ patents) or the IEC
list of patent declarations received (see patents.iec.ch).
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and
expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the
World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), see www .iso .org/
iso/ foreword .html. In the IEC, see www .iec .ch/ understanding -standards.
This document was prepared by Joint Technical Committee ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology,
Subcommittee SC 7, Software and systems engineering.
A list of all parts in the ISO/IEC 29110 series can be found on the ISO and IEC websites.
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found at www .iso .org/ members .html and www .iec .ch/ national
-committees.
iv © ISO/IEC 2021 – All rights reserved

Introduction
Very Small Entities (VSEs) around the world are contributing to valuable products and services. For
the purpose of the ISO/IEC 29110 series, a Very Small Entity (VSE) is an enterprise, an organisation,
a department or a project having up to 25 people. Since many VSEs develop and/or maintain system
elements and software components used in systems, or sold to be used by others, a recognition of VSEs
as suppliers of high-quality products is required.
According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) SME and
Entrepreneurship Outlook 2019 report, ‘Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and
entrepreneurship are essential drivers of economic and social well-being. Representing 99 % of all
businesses, generating about 60 % of employment and totalling between 50 % and 60 % of value added
in the OECD area’. The challenge facing OECD governments is to provide a business environment that
supports the competitiveness of this large heterogeneous business population and that promotes a
vibrant entrepreneurial culture.
From studies and surveys conducted, it is clear that the majority of International Standards do not
address the needs of VSEs. Implementation of and conformance with these standards is difficult, if not
impossible. Subsequently VSEs have no, or very limited, ways to be recognized as entities that produce
quality systems/system elements including software in their domain. Therefore, VSEs are often cut off
from some economic activities.
It has been found that VSEs find it difficult to relate International Standards to their business needs
and to justify the application of standards to their business practices. Most VSEs can neither afford the
resources, in terms of number of employees, expertise, budget and time, nor do they see a net benefit
in establishing systems or software lifecycle processes. To rectify some of these difficulties, a set of
guides has been developed according to a set of VSE characteristics. The guides are based on subsets of
appropriate standards processes, activities, tasks, and outcomes, referred to as Profiles. The purpose
of a profile is to define a subset of International Standards relevant to the VSEs’ context; for example,
processes, activities, tasks, and outcomes of ISO/IEC/IEEE 12207 for software; and processes, activities,
tasks, and outcomes of ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288 for systems; and information products (documentation) of
ISO/IEC/IEEE 15289 for software and systems.
VSEs can achieve recognition through implementing a profile and by being audited against
ISO/IEC 29110 specifications.
The ISO/IEC 29110 series can be applied at any phase of system or software development within a
lifecycle. This series is intended to be used by VSEs that do not have experience or expertise in adapting/
tailoring ISO/IEC/IEEE 12207 or ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288 standards to the needs of a specific project. VSEs
that have expertise in adapting/tailoring ISO/IEC/IEEE 12207 or ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288 are encouraged
to use those standards instead of ISO/IEC 29110.
The ISO/IEC 29110 series is intended to be used with any lifecycles such as: waterfall, iterative,
incremental, evolutionary or agile. The lifecycle processes described in the ISO/IEC 29110 series are
not intended to preclude or discourage their use by larger organisations than VSEs.
The lifecycle processes defined in the ISO/IEC 29110 series can be used by VSEs when using, as well as
when creating and supplying, a system or software. They can be applied at any level in a system’s or
software’s structure and at any stage in the lifecycle.
Systems, in the context of the ISO/IEC 29110 series, are typically composed of hardware and software
components.
The ISO/IEC 29110 series, targeted by audience, has been developed to improve system or software
and/or service quality, and process performance. See Table 1.
© ISO/IEC 2021 – All rights reserved v

Table 1 — ISO/IEC 29110 target audience
ISO/IEC 29110 Title Target audience
ISO/IEC TR 29110-1 Overview VSEs and their customers, assessors,
standards producers, tool vendors
and methodology vendors.
ISO/IEC 29110-2 Framework for profile Profile producers, tool vendors and
preparation methodology vendors.
Not intended for VSEs.
ISO/IEC 29110-3 Certification and assessment VSEs and their customers, assessors,
guidance accreditation bodies.
ISO/IEC 29110-4 Profile specifications VSEs, customers, standards produc-
ers, tool vendors and methodology
vendors.
ISO/IEC TR 29110-5 Management, engineering and VSEs and their customers.
service delivery guidelines
ISO/IEC 29110-6 Specific profile specifications VSEs, customers, standards produc-
ers, tool vendors and methodology
vendors.
ISO/IEC TR 29110-7 Specific profile guidelines VSEs and their customers.
If a new profile is needed, ISO/IEC 29110-4 or ISO/IEC 29110-6 and/or ISO/IEC TR 29110-7
ISO/IEC TR 29110-5 can be developed with minimal impact on existing documents.
ISO/IEC TR 29110-1 defines the terms common to the ISO/IEC 29110 series. It introduces processes,
lifecycle and standardization concepts, the taxonomy (catalogue) of ISO/IEC 29110 profiles and
the ISO/IEC 29110 series. It also introduces the characteristics and needs of a VSE, and clarifies the
rationale for specific profiles, documents, standards and guides.
ISO/IEC 29110-2 introduces the concepts for systems and software engineering profiles for VSEs. It
establishes the logic behind the definition and application of profiles. For standardized profiles, it
specifies the elements common to all profiles (structure, requirements, conformance, assessment). For
domain-specific profiles (profiles that are not standardized and developed outside of the ISO process),
it provides general guidance adapted from the definition of standardized profiles.
ISO/IEC 29110-3 defines certification schemes, assessment guidelines and compliance requirements
for process capability assessment, conformity assessments, and self-assessments for process
improvements. ISO/IEC 29110-3 also contains information that can be useful to developers of
certification and assessment methods and developers of certification and assessment tools.
ISO/IEC 29110-3 is addressed to people who have direct involvement with the assessment process, e.g.
the auditor, certification and accreditation bodies and the sponsor of the audit, who need guidance on
ensuring that the requirements for performing an audit have been met.
ISO/IEC 29110-4-m provides the specification for all profiles in one profile group that are based on
subsets of appropriate standards elements.
ISO/IEC TR 29110-5-m-n provides a management and engineering guide for each profile in one
profile group.
ISO/IEC 29110-6-m provides the specification for specific profiles that are based on subsets of
appropriate standards elements.
ISO/IEC TR 29110-7-x provides a guide for each profile in the specific profile group.
This document provides the specifications for the organizational management profile of the
management profile group. It is base
...