Overview
ISO/IEC/IEEE 15026-1:2025 - Systems and software engineering - Systems and software assurance - Part 1: Vocabulary and concepts defines the foundational vocabulary and organized concepts used across the ISO/IEC/IEEE 15026 series. This second-edition International Standard establishes unambiguous terms (e.g., assurance, assurance argument, assurance case, claim, evidence) and basic assurance concepts to enable a shared understanding among system, software and assurance practitioners. It does not cover operational service assurance or prescriptive measurement/analysis techniques.
Key topics
- Assurance terminology: Formal definitions of assurance-related terms and their relationships (claims, arguments, evidence, context).
- Basic concepts: Core ideas such as assurance, stakeholders, system vs product, property (including properties-as-behaviours), uncertainty, confidence, initiating conditions and consequences.
- Life cycle alignment: Concepts mapped to system and software life cycles to guide assurance activities through development, maintenance and evaluation.
- Integrity levels & risk: Conceptual treatment of integrity levels and their role when used with assurance cases and risk analysis.
- Assurance case foundations: How claims, arguments and evidence form an auditable assurance case and how these concepts interrelate with Parts 2–4 of the 15026 series.
- Scope limits: Explicit exclusions (ongoing service operation assurance; detailed measurement/analysis methods).
Practical applications
- Create consistent, auditable assurance cases that link claims to argumentation and evidence.
- Align multidisciplinary teams (systems, software, safety, security, quality) on common assurance vocabulary to reduce ambiguity in requirements and reviews.
- Inform risk analysis and integrity level definition by clarifying concepts and relationships used across the 15026 series.
- Support procurement, certification and accreditation activities by providing a clear conceptual basis for justification and evidence management.
- Serve as the conceptual reference when implementing the more procedural Parts 2 (assurance case structure), 3 (integrity levels) and 4 (guidance for achieving and showing claims).
Who should use it
- Systems and software engineers, assurance practitioners, safety and security engineers
- Program managers, acquirers and evaluators involved in certification or compliance reviews
- Authors and maintainers of assurance cases and organizations adopting ISO/IEC/IEEE 15026-series processes
- Standardization bodies and technical reviewers seeking a consistent assurance vocabulary
Related standards
- ISO/IEC/IEEE 15026-2 (assurance case structure)
- ISO/IEC/IEEE 15026-3 (integrity levels)
- ISO/IEC/IEEE 15026-4 (assurance guidance across the life cycle)
- ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288 and ISO/IEC/IEEE 12207 (life cycle processes and alignment)
Keywords: ISO/IEC/IEEE 15026-1:2025, systems and software assurance, assurance case, assurance argument, assurance vocabulary, integrity levels, life cycle, evidence, claims, risk analysis.