Visualizing composition and behavior of the ISO/IEC 33000 assessment framework through a multi-layer model

•Assessment practitioners and learners got a clear perception of the structure and use of the ISO/IEC 33000 standard.•Representation of conceptual and dynamic aspects of the standard was positively understood and applied in an assessment process.•The model helped to improve the knowledge transfer of the aspects of the standard between assessment practitioners of software processes.•According to the general results, the proposed model would support to extend knowledge about the standard in the software industry and therefore their practice in contexts where there is yet a lack or weak insight about it, such as it happens in Arequipa city, the place where the model was evaluated. Software Process Improvement (SPI) models are a very important topic for SPI practitioners and software engineering students hence is required to improve comprehension about process assessment models. This paper proposes a visual tracking of the ISO/IEC 33000 Assessment Framework through a multi-layered representational model describing the standard in a highly practical way via structural and behavioral views and graphical reporting. This kind of representation comprises several semantic layers according to model dimensions and including, besides an additional dimension for specifying measurements. The structural elements of the model are assigned on distinct layers and connected among them with connectors of dependence and co-occurrence when applying the Assessment Model to software processes. The representation model was tested by software developers, academic experts and software students.