IEEE 1074-1991

This standard provides the set of Activities that constitute the Processes that are mandatory for the development and maintenance of software, whether stand-alone or part of a system. (Non-software Activities, such as hardware development and purchasing, are outside of the scope of this standard.) This standard also provides associated Input and Output Information. For convenience, Activities are listed and described under specific Processes. In practice, the Activities may be performed by persons whose organizational titles or job descriptions do not clearly convey that a Process is part of their job. The Process under which an Activity is listed in this standard may be transparent in practice. This standard does not prescribe a specific software life cycle model (SLCM). Each using organization must map the activities specified in the standard into its own software life cycle (SLC). If an organization has not yet defined an SLC, it will be necessary for them to select or define one before attempting to follow this standard. Further, this standard does not presume the use of any specific software development methodology nor the creation of specific documents. For software already developed, it is recommended that these requirements, or a subset thereof, be applied. The existence of this standard should not be construed to prohibit the imposition of additional or more stringent requirements where the need exists, e.g., critical software. Compliance with this standard is defined in 1.5.1.

This is a standard for the Processes of software development and maintenance. This standard requires definition of a user's software life cycle and shows mapping into typical software life cycles, but it is not intended to define or imply a software life cycle of its own. This standard applies to the management and support Processes that continue throughout the entire life cycle, as well as all aspects of the software life cycle from concept exploration through retirement. Utilization of these Processes, and their component Activities, maximizes the benefits to the user when the use of this standard is initiated early in the software life cycle. Software that has proceeded past the initialization phase when this standard is invoked should gradually comply with the standard. This standard was written for any organization responsible for managing and developing software. It will be useful to project managers, software developers, quality assurance organizations, purchasers, users, and maintainers. Since it was written to consider both software and its operating environment, it can be used where software is the total system or where software is embedded in a larger system.

New IEEE Standard - Superseded. The set of activities that constitute the processes that are mandatory for the development and maintenance of software, whether stand-alone or part of a system, is set forth. The management and support processes that continue throughout the entire life cycle, as well as all aspects of the software life cycle from concept exploration through retirement, are covered. Associated input and output information is also provided. Utilization of the processes and their component activities maximizes the benefits to the user when the use of this standard is initiated early in the software life cycle. This standard requires definition of a user’s software life cycle and shows its mapping into typical software life cycles; it is not intended to define or imply a software life cycle of its own.