Is SPiCE 1-2-1 for ISO 20000 compatible with ISO 20000 SPICE?

The ISO 20000 requirements are included into the tool as base practices. An IT Service Management System, that adheres to all requirements of the base practices, is therefore in conformity with ISO 20000. Additionally the term 1-2-1 indicates that SPICE is mirrored in the tool one to one. That means, that SPICE 1-2-1 covers 100% of all relevant contents of the ISO 20000 SPICE™ Process Assessment Model (PAM).

What about SPiCE 1-2-1 and CMM?

Now there is a newer version of CMM (Capability Maturity Model) available, it is called: CMMI (CMM Integrated). This CMMI is a direct successor of the well known CMM version 1.1 and it arrived instead of CMM 2.0. The good message is: CMMI claims to be SPICE (ISO 15504) "compatible and compliant". So now, in theory, a SPiCE 1-2-1 assessment would be comparable to a CMMI assessments. but in practice, the assignment to the CMMI Process Areas is not that easy, because there sometimes is a different picture of the world behind. More info can be found at CMMI-Institute, but we think you will be happier if you can check it out from the viewpoint of the assessment tool. See: CMM-Quest-com.

Why ISO 15504 (SPiCE) and nothing else?

Of course, alternative assessment methods do have their advantages. SPiCE was established through an international commitee of experts and thus contains most of the advantages of all existing assessment methods in a standardized shape. The biggest disadvantege of SPiCE is the huge amount of information. Consider to read 400 pages.

But this was especially the reason for us to create the SPiCE 1-2-1 Assessment Tool: With this tool, it is much easier and entertainingly to read andlearn about ISO 15504 - instead of reading 400 pages!

Why should a software company use SPiCE?

• Because your customer wants it (space, automotive industry, finance etc.)
• Because it guarantees comparability
• Because it is the smallest common denominator: SPiCE is THE standard!

But, take care: Small software enterprises can hardly put the whole standard into realisation. A minimum size of the organisation is needed. For small companies (up to 15 employees) we recommend to use the assessment tool SPiCE-Lite.