ISO/IEC 16350, “Information technology — Systems and software engineering — Application management,” has just been released. The new 1st Edition is available from Document Center Inc. in paper format, for pdf download, and as part of our Standards Online subscription service. It provides software developers with a framework for supporting software applications throughout the entire life-cycle of the product.
Life-cycle support is a concept that has become “top of mind” in many disiplines over the last several years. It’s no different in the world of IT, where programs may be used for decades! So software developers should be aware that just because the initial release of an application has been made, there are still on-going management concerns and costs that will occur as long as the application is supported.
First, the organization must support the use and operation of the application. Then the organization must update the application for various reasons. These updates can be fixes, patches, and new releases with additional features. In this standard, these activities are termed “application management.”
While I think of software development as the happy scenario of write the code, sell the product, and watch the money roll in, the standard suggests that in fact more money, time and effort is spent maintaining a software application than is spent generating it in the first place. So having a process for identifying necessary activities and the associated work flows is essential to success.
Your ISO/IEC 16350 standard starts with the usual scope, definitions and referenced documents sections. However, early in the publication a section on conformance is added. These first 4 sections really pack in a lot of material on the basic concepts of actions, challenges and opportunities found in taking an active management oversight stance for the application’s lifecycle. And although there are no referenced documents at all, the text has extensive links with both ISO/IEC 20000-1 and ISO/IEC 12207. So you’ll be able to use this new release in support of your ISO certification requirements if you’re registered. FYI: Annex D reviews the relationship of this standard with ISO/IEC 15504-8 as well.
The main body of the ISO/IEC 16350 covers application management processes in detail. It has sections on support, software maintenance and renewal, application change, control and distribution, management processes, strategy, and organizational concerns. Exerpts from the two ISO/IEC “referenced” documents are found in boxed format, with detailed information on where the external requirements match up with the system found in this document.
I’ve already mentioned Annex D. Annex A is informative, covering explanatory statements. Annex B has required information on the tailoring process. Annex C is on the Process Reference Model used for assessment purposes. Annex E is a table like Annex D, this time on where the references to ISO/IEC 20000-1 and ISO/IEC 12207 are made. A 15-item bibliography completes the document.
Interestingly enough, the ISO/IEC 16350 started out as a Dutch standard, NEN 3434. Now that the ISO/IEC publication has been made, the Dutch national standard will be withdrawn.
How can you get your copy of the new ISO/IEC 16350? You’ll need to use an authorized distributor since the standard is covered by copyright. Document Center Inc. is such an organization with our standards catalog and store located at www.document-center.com. Here is a link directly to the order page for ISO/IEC 16350. Want more information or help with your order? Contact our staff by phone (650-591-7600), fax (650-591-7617) or email (info@document-center.com). We’re here to help you, so make us your Standards Experts!
