Patent ID: 8132153

Claim:
A system comprising: a processor; a storage medium coupled to the processor; and a quality management framework stored in the storage medium and accessed by the processor for a software project lifecycle, the quality management framework comprising: a library of a plurality of items configured for receiving/providing a plurality of inputs/outputs; and the framework being configured for providing access to the items of the library for providing the lifecycle of the software project, which project is defined by a series of lifecycle phases, wherein each of the lifecycle phases is evaluated by one or more predetermined external standards, wherein the library of a plurality of items includes: a policy depository to provide a description of objectives for engineering and management activities pertaining to the software project and rules meeting the objectives; a procedures depository to provide procedures that are required to perform to meet the objectives of policies of the policy depository during the lifecycle of the software project and to generate a swim-lane diagram of the software project; and a guideline depository to provide guidelines for executing the engineering and management activities during the lifecycle of the software project expert's advice and tips for performing the engineering and management activities.