What is the purpose of ISO 19650 suitability codes?

 When working with ISO 19650 CDE documents, you might wonder: What is the purpose of suitability codes?

The primary purpose of these codes is to provide a progressive framework for quality, intent, and milestone approval. They help ensure the content is developed, reviewed, and approved systematically through the milestone.

Here’s a breakdown of common suitability codes:

• S1: For coordination — the authoring team develops an iterative solution for integration, inviting collaborative comments. The solution will continue to develop.
• S3: For review and comment — the authoring team has developed the solution significantly for technical reviews or the pre-milestone quality sign-off process. The contents may undergo interdisciplinary or technical quality reviews, capturing feedback for resolution.
• S4: For stage authorization — the delivery team confirms the solution is complete and meets the milestone quality thresholds; delivery team quality sign-offs are obtained, and the solution is authorized for client submission.
• S5: For stage acceptance — the client may review and formally accept the solution. Note: This step is optional and reliant on the client’s submission processes.
• A1/A2/A3/A4….: Published — Accepted formal milestone submission, meeting the milestone contractual requirements.

Note: Not every document will go through all statuses; however, they must go through an S4 before stage approval.
You may notice that S2 is missing. S2 – is an outlier, typically referring to reference documents generated outside the delivery team, and/or will not have an iterative development approach.