BS ISO/IEC 26561:2019

What is ISO/IEC 26561 - Software and systems product line (SSPL) technical probe about? 

ISO/IEC 26561 is an international standard that discusses software and systems engineering. ISO/IEC 26561 within the context of methods and tools for supporting the diagnosis of an organization’s capability to adopt or improve software and systems product line engineering: 

• Defines processes for product line technical probe; those processes are described in terms of purpose, inputs, tasks, and outcomes 
• Defines method capabilities to support the defined tasks of each process; and 
• Defines tool capabilities that automate or semi-automate tasks and methods 

The main objective ISO/IEC 26561 is to help organizations with the successful adoption or improvement of a product line approach. 

ISO/IEC 26561 does not concern processes and capabilities of tools and methods for a single system but rather deals with those for a family of products. 

Who is ISO/IEC 26561 – SSPL technical probe for? 

ISO/IEC 26561 on software and systems product line is relevant to: 

• Software engineering industry 
• Software developers and engineers 
• Product line organizations 
• Management authorities in organizations 
• IT industry 

Why should you use ISO/IEC 26561- SSPL technical probe? 

Software and Systems Product Line (SSPL) engineering and management creates, exploits and manages a common platform to develop a family of products (e.g. software products, systems architectures) at lower cost, with reduced time to market and better quality. Product line technical probe refers to a diagnostic process for investigating the organization’s readiness to adopt or ability to succeed. 

ISO/IEC 26561 specifies product line technical probe that provides an overall picture of an organization’s current capability level compared with essential capabilities necessary to successfully provide products that conform to market and customer needs. 

ISO/IEC 26561 can be used: 

• By organizations that want to adopt SSPL for producing their products – to provide guidance on how to probe the organization’s capabilities necessary to adopt or improve product line engineering 
• By a product line organization – to provide guidance on the evaluation and selection for methods and tools for product line technical probe 
• By providers of methods and/or tools – to provide guidance on implementing or developing methods and/or tools by specifying a comprehensive set of methods and tools capabilities for supporting product line technical probe. 

Meanwhile, the product line technical probe support process provides support required for producing correct technical probe findings and product line adoption scenarios so as to achieve the organization’s values through product line engineering. 

During product line engineering and management, a product line technical probe in compliance with ISO/IEC 26561 supports continuous improvements of an organization’s product line capability.