How the Rational Unified Process Supports ISO 12207

by Philippe Kruchten, Rational Canada, ©Copyright April 2004 by Rational Software Corporation. All Rights Reserved. 

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Abstract

The international standard ISO/IEC 12207:1995-Information Technology-Software Lifecycle Processes (ISO 12207 further in this paper), establishes a common framework used by software practitioners to speak the same language when describing their software processes. It is not a complete ready-to-use process, but only a framework that identifies, names, and relates the various (sub)processes that constitute this domain.

The Rational Unified Process© or RUP© (RUP further in this paper) is a process framework, but unlike ISO 12207, it comes not empty, but prepopulated with a wealth of guidance, methods, techniques, templates, and examples, out of which a concrete process can be instantiated.

The purpose of this paper is to:

• provide a brief overview of ISO12207
• point to some light terminology differences that may throw off the RUP practitioner (or the ISO 12207 literate)
• describe how the RUP supports the various parts identified in ISO 12207, where it fills the blanks, and to what extent