Using ISO/IEC/IEEE 24748-2

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Effective management of life cycle processes ensures quality, risk reduction, and consistency across projects. ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288 provides the foundational framework for system life cycle processes, often extended by domain-specific standards. ISO/IEC/IEEE 24748-2 guides the practical application of 15288 covering strategy, system, life cycle, organizational, project, process, and conformance aspects to ensure structured, adaptable implementation.

Fundamental Concepts

Management and structuring of life cycle processes are critical to achieving successful results. Life cycle processes provide a structured framework for all life cycle stages of systems or products. For organizations striving to ensure quality, reduce risk, and enhance consistency across projects, adopting recognized standards is not only recommended but often essential.

ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288 can be seen as the foundation for domain-specific standards (e.g., ASPICE, ISO 26262, RTCA DO-178C, RTCA DO-254, IEC 62304, ISO 13485), or as a framework for other standards and guides with specific focuses (e.g., ISO/IEC 27000, NIST 800-160, SAE 1001). In many situations it is therefore advisable to use this standard as a starting point and then overlay domain-specific standards to meet regulatory or certification requirements.

According to ISO/IEC/IEEE 24748-2: ISO/IEC/IEEE 24748-2 is a guideline for the application of ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288. It addresses system, life cycle, organizational, project, and process, concept application, principally through reference to ISO/IEC/IEEE 24748-1 and ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288. It gives guidance on applying ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288 from the aspects of strategy, planning, application in organizations, and application on projects. Whereas ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288 is kept short and concise, ISO/IEC/IEEE 24784-2 elaborates on the following aspects:

• Application strategy
• Application of system concepts
• Application of life cycle concepts
• Application of organizational concepts
• Application of project concepts
• Application of process concepts
• Application of conformance and adaptation concepts

Application Strategy

Guidelines are provided for defining the strategy to apply ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288 to

• a specific project,
• improving an organization’s life cycle processes, or
• system life cycle processes usable within a larger process (e.g., an organization’s acquisition process).

The strategy described in ISO/IEC/IEEE 24748-2 includes the following steps:

• plan the application,
• adapt ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288, if applicable,
• conduct pilot project(s),
• formalize the approach, and
• institutionalize the approach.

Application of System Concepts

Approaches are summarized on how to define the system-of-interest, the system structure, as well as interfacing, enabling, and interoperating systems.

Application of life cycle concepts

This clause of ISO/IEC/IEEE 24748-2 summarizes

the generic life cycle stages,

the decision gates that separate the stages, and

application approaches.

Application of organizational concepts

Guidelines are provided on which topics should be considered when ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288 is applied internally by an organization or ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288 is applied through an agreement by two or more organizations.

Application of project concepts

This clause of ISO/IEC/IEEE 24748-2 summarizes how ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288 can be used by a project. Each of the four process groups (Agreement Processes, Organizational Project-Enabling Processes, Technical Management Processes, and Technical Processes) can be used to establish a common understanding in a project.

Application of process concepts

Detailed guidelines are provided for the life cycle processes defined in ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288.

Application of conformance and adaptation concepts

Guidelines for conformance and adaptation of the life cycle processes defined in ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288 are provided.

References

Works Cited

ASPICE. 2025. Automotive Software-based systems Process Improvement and Capability DEtermination. Version 4.0. Accessed 29 Oct 2025: https://vda-qmc.de/en/automotive-spice/

IEC. 2006. Medical device software — Software life cycle processes. International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). IEC 62304:2006.

ISO. 2016. Medical devices — Quality management systems — Requirements for regulatory purposes. Geneva, Switzerland: International Organization for Standardization (ISO). ISO 13485:2016.

ISO. 2028. Road vehicles – Functional safety. Geneva, Switzerland: International Organization for Standardization (ISO). ISO 26262 Series, 2018.

ISO/IEC. 2018. Information technology — Security techniques — Information security management systems — Overview and vocabulary. International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). ISO/IEC 27000:2018.

ISO/IEC/IEEE. 2023. Systems and software engineering — System life cycle processes. Geneva, Switzerland: International Organization for Standardization (ISO), International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288:2023.

ISO/IEC/IEEE. 2024a. Systems and software engineering — Life cycle management — Part 1: Guidelines for life cycle management. Geneva, Switzerland: International Organization for Standardization (ISO), International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). ISO/IEC/IEEE 24748-1:2024.

ISO/IEC/IEEE. 2024b. Systems and software engineering — Life cycle management — Part 2: Guidelines for the application of ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288 (system life cycle processes). Geneva, Switzerland: International Organization for Standardization (ISO), International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). ISO/IEC/IEEE 24748-2:2024.

NIST 2022. Engineering Trustworthy Secure Systems. National Institute of Standards and Technology. NIST SP 800-160 Vol. 1 Rev. 1, 2022.

RTCA. 2000. Design Assurance Guidance for Airborne Electronic Hardware. Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics. RTCA DO-254, 2000.

RTCA. 2018. Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification. Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics. RTCA DO-178C, 2018.

SAE. 2018. Integrated Project Processes for Engineering a System. Warrendale, PA: SAE International, SAE 1001:2018.

Primary References

ISO/IEC/IEEE. 2023. Systems and software engineering — System life cycle processes. Geneva, Switzerland: International Organization for Standardization (ISO), International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288:2023.

ISO/IEC/IEEE. 2024a. Systems and software engineering — Life cycle management — Part 1: Guidelines for life cycle management. Geneva, Switzerland: International Organization for Standardization (ISO), International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). ISO/IEC/IEEE 24748-1:2024.

ISO/IEC/IEEE. 2024b. Systems and software engineering — Life cycle management — Part 2: Guidelines for the application of ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288 (system life cycle processes). Geneva, Switzerland: International Organization for Standardization (ISO), International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). ISO/IEC/IEEE 24748-2:2024.

Additional References

None