Information technology -- Process assessment -- Part 4: Guidance on use for process improvement and process capability determination

ISO/IEC 15504 provides a framework for the assessment of processes. This framework can be used by organizations involved in planning, managing, monitoring, controlling, and improving the acquisition, supply, development, operation, evolution and support of products and services.

ISO/IEC 15504-4:2004 provides guidance on how to utilize a conformant process assessment within a process improvement programme or for process capability determination.

Within a process improvement (PI) context, process assessment provides a means of characterizing an organizational unit in terms of the capability of selected processes. Analysis of the output of a conformant process assessment against an organizational unit's business goals identifies strengths, weaknesses and risks related to the processes. This, in turn, can help determine whether the processes are effective in achieving business goals, and provide the drivers for making improvements.

Process capability determination (PCD) is concerned with analysing the output of one or more conformant process assessments to identify the strengths, weaknesses and risks involved in undertaking a specific project using the selected processes within a g