1. Purpose and scope
Every later stage depends on a clear answer to one question: what capability must the organisation show, to whom and by when? Without it, effort goes into processes nobody will assess and the formal assessment arrives with a scope that does not match the contract. This stage turns a customer requirement, a supplier selection or an internal ambition into an agreed scope and a target capability profile that the sponsor has accepted and funded.
Automotive SPICE is a process reference and assessment model published by the quality management center of the German automotive industry association (VDA QMC). It describes processes by their purpose and expected results, and it measures capability on the levels of the ISO/IEC 33000 measurement framework: incomplete, performed, managed, established, predictable and innovating. Vehicle manufacturers and large suppliers commonly write a target capability for named processes into sourcing contracts, and chip, IP and software suppliers increasingly receive the same requirement.
In scope: the business case, the sponsor, the customer process requirements, the scope definition, the target capability profile and the sponsorship record. Out of scope: measuring current capability (Gap Assessment & Process Baseline) and writing processes (Process Definition & Improvement Plan).
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