The ISO SPICE initiative uses assessment techniques to identify areas for organizational improvement. For example, against the SPICE benchmark, an organization’s management skills may be immature. ISO SPICE would then recommend a process improvement project, lasting from 18 months to two years. Several consultancies offer SPICE assessments.

The PULSE project extends this concept. It takes the SPICE concept of defined processes and the ability to measure them, and applies these to IT procurement. The objective is to develop a standard way to measure the maturity of IT procurement processes.