SAM Processes and ISO

By Hans van der Zanden, SAM

 

In the previous blogs in this series I described my favorite SAM Process model and organizational units that are involved. ISO 19770 is the standard that should support organizations to prove that their processes comply to globally accepted recommendations. Unfortunately, certification is not yet possible (see also ‘Although ISO 19770’ by my colleague Nico Blokland). Preparing for future certification by implementing designated processes, however, will always pay off, even without certification. Which processes are we talking about?

ISO 19770-1

The ISO 19770 family include standards for software, software suppliers, etc. Standards are distinguished by ‘dashes’. -4 (‘dash 4’), for instance, is all about Resource Utilization Metering. -1 is the standard for organizations that want to improve their maturity and to prove their compliance.

The first edition of ISO 19770-1 was published in 2006. It provides a comprehensive process framework, consisting of 27 processes

19770-1-versie-1-diagram

You won’t be surprised that this model proved to be too comprehensive for most organizations. Therefore edition 2 was established in 2012. Four tiers provide an approach for a phased implementation of the processes and for staged improvement of SAM maturity:

  • Tier 1 – Trustworthy data
  • Tier 2 – Practical management
  • Tier 3 – Operational
  • Tier 4 – Full ISO/IEC SAM conformance

Again, however, it’s no success story. Especially the intertwining between the tiers and the process framework makes it complex. Edition 2 was promised to be accessible and assessable but neither became true. There is good news, however. ISO19770-1:Edition 3 is up for global ballot. I expect that it will be adopted in May 2017. Which are the main differences and will they work out this time?

 

A striking difference is the simplification of the process framework, including a clear relationship with three tiers:

  • Tier 1 – Trustworthy Data
  • Tier 2 – Lifecycle Integration
  • Tier 3 – Optimization

I will show the picture and discuss the model after publication in May.

The accessibility has been substantially improved, the assessability not yet. Our challenge is to make this edition assessable and certifiable in the short term. I’ll keep you informed.

For the time being we apply our In2SAM process model (Figure 2), which I explained in my previous blogs.

sam-process-model

This model is fully compliant with the ISO19770 standard. If implemented in a smart way it guarantees a solid return on investment and future certification.

Of course, this raises questions of what I mean with ‘a smart way’ to implement processes. The implementation approach will be the topic of my next blog. I hope to have you interested there again.

 

Hans van der Zanden
Co-founder and CFO of In2SAM BV, The Netherlands
Process guru for 25 years
Expert added to ISO Workgroup 21, co-editor of additions to ISO 19770

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