SEVOCAB is an online vocabulary of standardized terminology for software and system engineering. The dictionary is intended to serve as a useful reference for those in the Information Technology field, and to encourage the use of software and systems engineering standards prepared by IEEE, ISO/IEC and its liaison organization Project Management Institute. The goal is to provide definitions that are rigorous, uncomplicated, and which can be understood by all concerned. The SEVOCAB database is issued periodically as a formal, published International Standard (ISO/IEC 24765) reflecting a "snapshot" of the database.

The copyright notice provided with the database permits users to copy definitions from the database as long as the source of the definition is cited. Permitting public usage of the definitions in the database is intended to encourage the usage of other IEEE, ISO/IEC JTC1, and PMI software and systems engineering standards.

SEVOCAB can be used quickly to look up the meaning of a word, but no word stands in isolation. The search results include (1) the exact term, (2) any terms containing the exact term, (3) any terms containing the searched text in a definition, and (4) any terms containing the searched term as a synonym. Reviewing the complete search results gives a richer understanding of the meaning of related concepts.

Entries in the vocabulary are arranged alphabetically. Blanks precede all other characters in alphabetizing. Hyphens are treated as blanks. Phrases are given in their natural order (test plan) rather than in reversed order (plan, test).

Since a minimum of three characters is needed to search SEVOCAB, it is not possible to search for terms that are two-letter acronyms. These can usually be retrieved by searching for a word likely to be included in the definition. For example, "CD" may be found by searching for "compact" or "disk".

An entry may consist of a single word, such as "software," a phrase, such as "test case," or an acronym, such as "CDR."

Acronyms may be listed separately as well as in parenthesis following the source term. Terms that are verbs are shown without the infinitive marker "to."

After each term, numbered definitions are listed in order of preference, or from the most general to the more specific usages. The different definitions may show the use of a term as a noun, verb, and adjective.

A source is shown after each definition.

Comments and illustrations taken from the source standards have been added to clarify selected definitions.

The following cross-references are used to show a term's relationship to other terms in the dictionary:

Synonym (Syn.) refers to a term with the same meaning. Synonyms are listed under the preferred term and may be located by searching. See also refers to related terms that are not synonyms.

Terms, definitions, and notes use spelling preferred in the USA. The use of capital letters has been minimized and generally limited to proper names and acronyms. In some cases the source standard uses another correct spelling (e.g., "behaviour", rather than "behavior", "on-line", rather than "online"). Other correct spellings and capitalization of the terms, according to national standard, an authoritative general dictionary, or accepted style guide, may be used with the definitions.

Terms have been excluded if they were considered to be parochial to one group or organization; company proprietary or trademarked; multi-word terms whose meaning could be inferred from the definitions of the component words; or terms whose meaning in the Information Technology (IT) field could be directly inferred from their common English meaning.

Every effort has been made to use definitions from established software and systems engineering standards of ISO JTC1/SC7, the IEEE Computer Society, and the PMI. When existing standards were found to be incomplete, unclear, or inconsistent with other entries in the vocabulary, however, new, revised, or composite definitions have been developed. Some definitions have been recast in a systems, rather than software, context.

The vocabulary includes references to the source standards for each definition, so that the use of the term can be further explored. In some cases, the same definition may also be found in other active or withdrawn standards.

The primary source and base document for this vocabulary is IEEE Std 610-12-1990, IEEE Standard Glossary of Software Engineering Terminology. Its approach and lexical exactitude served as a model for ISO/IEC 24765. Nevertheless, approximately two-thirds of the definitions in this IS are new since IEEE Std 610-12 was last updated in 1990, a reflection of the continued evolution in the field. New or substantially revised definitions are shown with the source of ISO/IEC 24765. Definitions from the source document IEEE Std 610-12-1990 are shown with the source of ISO/IEC 24765, which supersedes IEEE Std 610-12-1990.

The definitions are drawn from normative standards and informative guidance documents. They may be used as a guidance document for projects and organizations claming conformance to the normative source standards.

For ISO guidance on vocabularies, see ISO 1087: 1990, Terminology – Vocabulary.

The Project Management Institute (PMI) Glossary definitions have been included without alteration in accordance with the copyright agreement. These definitions may include explanatory material. For other terms and other definitions that have ISO/IEC and IEEE standards as their source, explanatory matter is shown in the Notes.

Many of the definitions from the PMI Glossary begin with a word or phrase in italics, such as [Process}, [Output/Input]. [Technique]. These bracketed entries refer to the schema of the Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Fifth Edition, which should be consulted for further explanation