| 1 |
No standards compliance. Neither the software nor the software development process adheres to any identified standards other than those inherent in the software languages employed. |
| 2 |
No standards compliance beyond best practices. The software and software development process adhere, at least in part, to some common best practices, but do not identify or claim compliance with any recognized standard. |
| 3 |
Some compliance with local standards and best practices. The software and software development process comply with standards and best practices defined locally by the development organization. |
| 4 |
Standards compliance, but incomplete and untested. The software and software development process attempt to comply with recognized standards, but without verification. Standards compliance is thus untested and may not be complete. |
| 5 |
Standards compliance with some testing. The software and software development process comply with recognized standards, but verification of compliance is incomplete. Standards compliance may not be followed by all components. |
| 6 |
Verified standards compliance with proprietary standards. The software and software development process comply with specific and proprietary standards (such as Windows GUI) and compliance with those standards has been verified through testing. |
| 7 |
Verified standards compliance with open standards. The software and software development process comply with specific open standards and compliance with those standards has been verified through testing. |
| 8 |
Verified standards compliance with recognized standards. The software and software development process comply with internationally recognized standards such as W3C, XML, XHTML, WAI, IP for Web; or ANSI/ISO (C/C++), JCP (Java), for software; and CMMI, IEEE Software Engineering Standards for development process. Standards compliance has been verified through testing, but not by an independent testing organization. |
| 9 |
Independently verified standards compliance with recognized standards. The software and software development process comply with internationally recognized standards. Independent and documented standards compliance verification is included with the software. The development organization maintains standards compliance in its development process through regular testing and certification from an independent group |