ISO/IEC NP 26044

Software and Systems Engineering — Reference model on capabilities of generative AI tools for software engineering

Scope

This document provides a reference model on capabilities of generative AI tools for software engineering. The reference model serves as a foundational framework for understanding and applying generative AI tool capabilities to support software engineering processes.
The reference model specifies the structure of processes and subprocesses of tool capabilities for generative AI tools for software engineering. Each process is divided into subprocesses, and each subprocess is described in terms of the following attributes (harmonized with ISO/IEC/IEEE 12207 and ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288):

• the title of the subprocess;
• the purpose of the subprocess;
• the inputs to produce the outcomes;
• the tasks to achieve the outcomes (tasks are supported by methods and tool capabilities to produce outcomes);
• the outcomes of the subprocess.

This document defines:
• a structured reference model organizing gen-AI tool capabilities across four key process areas: Project Processes, Technical Processes, Organizational Processes, and Governance Processes;
• project processes for planning, enabling, and managing gen-AI tool integration in software engineering projects;
•technical process tool capabilities supporting the software engineering lifecycle: requirements engineering, architecture and design, implementation, verification and validation, system integration, and maintenance;
• organizational process tool capabilities for quality assurance, human resource management, infrastructure management, process management, and knowledge management;
• governance processes for managing gen-AI tool usage within software engineering workflows;
• tool integration points and interrelationships between gen-AI tool capabilities and ISO/IEC/IEEE 12207 software life cycle processes and ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288 system life cycle processes.

This document is applicable to:
• tool vendors developing gen-AI tools for software engineering;
• organizations evaluating, selecting, and deploying gen-AI tools for software engineering;
• software engineering teams integrating gen-AI tools into their workflows;
• process engineers defining tool capability requirements for software life cycle processes;
• independent evaluators assessing gen-AI tool capabilities for software engineering.

This document does not specify:
• requirements for AI systems themselves (covered by ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 42 standards);
• AI model development, training, or deployment processes;
• AI system life cycle processes;
• specific tool implementations or technologies.