Overview
ISO/IEC TS 25052-1:2022 specifies a quality model for cloud services as part of the SQuaRE (Systems and software Quality Requirements and Evaluation) family. The technical specification defines a consistent terminology and structure for specifying, measuring and evaluating non‑functional aspects of cloud services - with a current focus on SaaS (Software as a Service). It is intended to be used by cloud service customers (CSC), cloud service providers (CSP) and cloud service partners (CSN) to align expectations, requirements and evaluations, and to support SLA definition and compliance.
Key topics and technical requirements
- Quality model framework: Extension to the ISO/IEC 2501n quality models so cloud-specific characteristics can be combined with product, IT service, data and quality‑in‑use models.
- Nine cloud quality characteristics: The document defines nine high‑level characteristics (some with subcharacteristics). Examples included in the text:
- Service performance efficiency (subcharacteristics: time‑behaviour, aggregated resource utilization, capacity, scalability, elasticity)
- Service compatibility (including cloud interoperability)
- Service usability (including accessibility for diverse client devices)
- Service reliability (including availability, resilience, recoverability)
- Service security (including confidentiality)
- Cloud-specific considerations: Addresses cloud traits such as broad network access, measured service, multi‑tenancy, on‑demand self‑service, rapid elasticity and resource pooling - and their impact on quality measurement.
- SLA linkage: Emphasizes parameters and measures that feed into Service Level Agreements (SLA), e.g., capacity limits, response times, availability targets.
- Terminology and measurement readiness: Provides consistent definitions to enable specification of measurable quality requirements and evaluation modules.
Applications and users
This standard is practical for:
- Cloud service customers and procurers: Defining selection criteria, acceptance tests and SLAs for SaaS.
- Cloud service providers: Designing, testing and reporting service quality; aligning offerings to measurable quality characteristics.
- Architects and developers: Translating non‑functional requirements (scalability, elasticity, interoperability) into design and test goals.
- QA teams and auditors: Establishing evaluation metrics, quality control criteria and audit evidence for cloud services.
- Partners and integrators: Assessing compatibility and interoperability when integrating multiple cloud services.
Common use cases: cloud service selection, requirements analysis, SLA drafting, development/test objective setting, operational monitoring, and audit/evaluation.
Related standards
Keywords: ISO/IEC TS 25052-1:2022, SQuaRE, cloud services quality model, SaaS quality model, cloud service evaluation, cloud SLA, cloud interoperability, service performance, service reliability, service security.