ISO IEC 25066-2016 PDF

Full title and description

ISO/IEC 25066:2016 — Systems and software engineering — Systems and software Quality Requirements and Evaluation (SQuaRE) — Common Industry Format (CIF) for Usability — Evaluation Report. This International Standard defines a common industry format for reporting usability evaluation results and identifies intended users and applicable situations for such evaluation reports.

Abstract

ISO/IEC 25066:2016 describes the Common Industry Format (CIF) for reporting usability evaluations. It provides a classification of evaluation approaches and specifies the content elements that should be included in an evaluation report depending on the chosen approach(es). The standard is applicable to software and hardware systems, products or services used for predefined tasks (excluding generic components such as a display screen or keyboard) and is intended to integrate with system-level documentation and development processes (for example ISO 9241-210 and ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 7 process standards).

General information

• Status: Published (International Standard; edition 1). Confirmed on review (confirmed in follow-up review cycles).
• Publication date: June 2016 (ISO/IEC 25066:2016).
• Publisher: International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in cooperation with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) / ISO/IEC JTC 1.
• ICS / categories: 35.080 (Software engineering / Software).
• Edition / version: Edition 1 (2016).
• Number of pages: 37 pages (English ISO edition). Note: national/adopted versions or translations may list different page counts.

Scope

The standard specifies a common reporting format for usability evaluation reports, including classification of evaluation approaches (e.g., formative, summative, expert review, user testing) and a set of content elements to be included in reports depending on the approach taken. It is intended for documenting evaluations of systems, products or services used for predefined tasks and for integration with system-level lifecycle processes and human-centred design activities. It does not prescribe how to conduct evaluations — rather, it standardizes the content and structure of the evaluation report so that results are comparable, interpretable and reusable across organizations and projects.

Key topics and requirements

• Classification of usability evaluation approaches and guidance on selecting appropriate report content elements for each approach.
• Defined content elements for evaluation reports (e.g., product description, evaluation goals, participants, tasks, experimental design, data collection methods, measures and results).
• Requirements to identify intended report users and the contexts in which the report will be applied (so recipients can interpret and act on results).
• Guidance for integrating evaluation report content with system-level documentation and human-centred design processes (links to ISO 9241-210 and SQuaRE process standards).
• Emphasis on comparability and reusability of usability evidence across projects through standardized content and structure.

Typical use and users

Typical users include usability engineers, HCI researchers, UX designers, quality assurance and testing teams, product managers, acquirers/procurement officers, regulatory reviewers and independent evaluators who need a consistent, interpretable reporting format for usability evaluations. The standard is used when creating formal evaluation reports intended for decision-makers (e.g., release decisions, procurements, certification) or for archival and comparative purposes across product versions or vendors.

Related standards

ISO/IEC 25066 is part of the SQuaRE family and the CIF (Common Industry Format) set of usability-related documents. Closely related standards include ISO/TR 25060 (general CIF framework, 2023), ISO/IEC 25062 (CIF for reporting usability evaluations — newer/revised editions published subsequently), ISO/IEC 25063 (CIF for context of use description), ISO/IEC 25064 (CIF for user needs report), ISO/IEC 25065 (CIF for user requirements specification), ISO/IEC 25010 (product quality model) and ISO 9241-210 (human-centred design). These documents together provide complementary guidance for specifying, documenting and evaluating usability and use-related quality.

Keywords

usability, CIF, Common Industry Format, SQuaRE, usability evaluation, evaluation report, human-centred design, usability metrics, usability testing, user needs, context of use.

FAQ

Q: What is this standard?

A: ISO/IEC 25066:2016 is an international standard that defines a common industry format (CIF) for usability evaluation reports — i.e., the content and structure that should be used when documenting the results of usability evaluations.

Q: What does it cover?

A: It covers classification of evaluation approaches and detailed content elements for evaluation reports (product description, goals, participants, tasks, design, measures, results, interpretation and intended users of the report). It standardizes reporting rather than prescribing evaluation methods.

Q: Who typically uses it?

A: Usability and UX professionals, QA/test teams, product owners, acquirers and independent evaluators who need consistent, comparable and actionable usability evaluation reports. It is also useful for organizations that must archive or compare evaluation outcomes across products or vendors.

Q: Is it current or superseded?

A: The ISO page lists ISO/IEC 25066 as published in June 2016 (edition 1). Standards in the SQuaRE/CIF family are periodically reviewed and some CIF documents have been revised or updated since 2016; users should check for newer or revised CIF documents (for example revisions or related CIF documents published in later years) when applying the guidance. The ISO catalogue entry for 25066 shows the 2016 edition as published and confirmed in review cycles.

Q: Is it part of a series?

A: Yes — it is part of the ISO/IEC 25000 SQuaRE family and the CIF suite of usability-related documents (examples include ISO/TR 25060, ISO/IEC 25062, ISO/IEC 25063, ISO/IEC 25064, ISO/IEC 25065 and ISO/IEC 25010). These complement each other across needs, requirements, context descriptions and reporting of usability evaluations.

Q: What are the key keywords?

A: The most important keywords are: usability, CIF (Common Industry Format), evaluation report, SQuaRE, usability testing, user needs, context of use, human-centred design, usability measures.