Process (glossary)
(1) A process is a set of interrelated or interacting activities which transforms inputs into outputs (ISO 9000:2005)
(2) A set of activities, methods, practices, and transformations that people use to develop and maintain systems and associated products. (SEI 2007)
(3) Process Purpose: high level objective of performing the process and the likely outcomes of effective implementation of the process. NOTE The implementation of the process should provide tangible benefits to the stakeholders. (ISO/IEC 12207:2008)
(4) Process Outcome: observable result of the successful achievement of the process purpose (ISO/IEC 12207:2008)
Sources
(1) ISO/IEC. 2000. International standards for quality management. Geneva, Switzerland: International Organization for Standardization (ISO)/International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), ISO 9000:2000.
(2) SEI. 2007. Capability maturity model integrated (CMMI) for development, version 1.2, Pittsburg, PA, USA: Software Engineering Institute (SEI)/Carnegie Mellon University (CMU).
(3) and (4) ISO/IEEE. 2008. Systems and Software Engineering — Software Life Cycle Processes. Geneva, Switzerland: International Organization for Standards (ISO)/Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Computer Society, ISO/IEEE 12207:2008(E).
Discussion
These definitions are taken from the INCOSE Systems Engineering Handbook, and are based on standard ISO terminology.