This document defines system engineering and management requirements for the life cycle of websites, including strategy, design, engineering, testing and validation, and management and sustainment for intranet and extranet environments. This document applies to those using web technology to present information and communications technology (ICT) information, such as information for users of systems and services, plans and reports for systems and software engineering projects, and documentation of policies, plans, and procedures for IT service management. This document provides requirements for website owners and website providers, managers responsible for establishing guidelines for website development and operations, website engineers, designers, developers, and operations and maintenance staff, who can be external or internal to the website owner's organization. It applies to websites for public access and for limited access, such as for users, customers, and subscribers seeking information on IT systems, products and services.

The requirements and recommendations in this document address the following aspects of usability of informational websites and ease of maintenance of managed website operations:

a)       locating relevant and timely information;

b)       applying information security management;

c)        facilitating accessibility and ease of use;

d)       providing for consistent and efficient development and maintenance practices.

This document is not particularly applicable to websites used primarily for marketing or sales, to deliver instructional material (tutorials), or to provide graphical user interfaces (GUI) for business or consumer transactional application processing. However, this document can provide useful insights for managing such sites.

This document does not address vendor and product considerations for website engineering and management. This document does not include specifications for application development tools, programming and scripting languages used for websites, metadata tags, or protocols for network communications. It does not address tools or systems used for management or storage of information content (data, documents) that can be presented on websites.

This document does not address the design and architecture of software and systems supporting the Internet.