The documentation should be detailed enough so that testing of a given implementation can be repeated with no change in test results. Therefore, the list of assertions should be as comprehensive as possible. Environment working temperature is between 15C 40C. These assertions are statements of functionality or behavior derived from the standard, and which are true for conforming implementations. [1] Gartner Group, a Stamford, CT based consulting company, [2] ISO/IEC Guide 2:1996, Standardization and Related Activities General Vocabulary, Webmaster | Contact Us | Our Other Offices, Created September 8, 2010, Updated August 25, 2016, Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP). need. Do you face challenges of getting required specifications while creating Tender/RFQ package? If bids could depart from the specification, the result would be the defeat of competition and a contract in which there was no competitive bidding. Typically, level 1 is the basic core of the specifications that must be implemented by all products. 4. Although conformance testing is not a guarantee for interoperability, it is an essential step towards achieving interoperability. 0000002964 00000 n 4. The conformance clause of a standard specification is a high-level description of what is required of implementers and application developers. Usually testing programs are initiated for those specifications or standards for critical applications, for interoperability with other applications, and/or for security of the systems. The responsible party has the option to use the certification procedure in place of the SDoC procedure. What should a certificate of conformity include? Conformance to specification means to meet the regulatory requirements; Customer needs means to meet the customer reasonable specific requirements. In contraast, see Performance or Functional Specifications . and others may require laboratory tests. SPECIFICATION DEFINITIONS AND INSTRUCTIONS. For this reason it is a good practice to write a test of the Spec at the same time the Spec is being written. BRAND-NAME SPECIFICATIONS: The A profile is a subset of the overall specifications that includes all of the functionality necessary to satisfy the requirements of a particular community of users. /Filter /LZWDecode The test software, consisting of a set of test files (i.e., data, programs, or scripts) checks each requirement in the specification to determine whether the results produced by the implementation match the expected results, as defined by the specification. Several of the W3C Working Groups have developed conformance test suites or tools e.g., SVG, CSS, and HTML. What are the types of specifications when contracting? purpose intended. An airline buys fan blades for their planes engines. Extensions shall follow the principles and guidelines of the standard they extend, that is, the specifications must be extended in a standard manner. PERFORMANCE SPECIFICATIONS: The terms Sample 1 Sample 2 The conformance clause may specify sets of functions, which may take the form of profiles, levels, or other structures. all necessary drawings, dimensions, terms, and Its relatively easy, faster & straight forward to complete procurement process with conformance specs; however, it limits innovation as you dont really give chance to suppliers to suggest different solutions. The duty of Procurement to promote In fact, specification writing should begin very early on in a project lifecycle. 7. 0000009274 00000 n required, testing methods, and characteristics that the Is this a requirement that comes from a particular type of user? Certificate of Conformity, According to the FCC (47 CFR Section 2.906), Sofeast: Quality Assurance In China Or Vietnam For Beginners [eBook], Assembly Fixtures: A Valuable Productivity and Quality Tool, Process Engineering: Limitations of Most Chinese Suppliers, 6 Tips To Combat Common Recurring Quality Issues From Your Supplier, ISTA Testing: Do It And Stop Worrying About Product Damage In Transit, How USA & Canada SME Importers Feel about China in early 2023, Description of the product covered in the CoC, List of all safety regulations the product must pass, The CoC must clearly list each of the safety regulations the product must be tested for, refer to related tests reports or certificates, Importer or manufacturers identification, Provide the name, full mailing address, and telephone number of the importer or domestic manufacturer certifying the product. Early supplier involvement can reduce evaluation time in performance based contracts. With any standard or specification, eventually the discussion turns to "how will we know if an implementation or application conforms to our standard or specification?" It is best practice to ensure that suppliers are contractually required to provide line item spend details. ~ F3!"c|?f0u{X)(oMU1H"Yq66fI1ar3f$cq. Other conformance related terms include validation and certification. It will include: Finding examples on the internet is easy. Nevertheless, the larger and more varied the set of inputs is, the more confidence can be placed in an implementation whose testing generates no errors. These cast blades have to be x-ray checked to ensure no voids or cracks are evident. The testing program should strive to be as impartial and objective as possible, i.e., to remove subjectivity of both the procedures and the testing tools. For example, some testing programs may require a very formal testing and certification approach using an independent (i.e., third party), nationally accredited testing laboratory while other programs may be more appropriate for self declaration and demonstration testing. The Procurement cycle is covered extensively within the CIPS . Taking the time to think, write & challenge what your internal customer need is one of the most important keys to have efficient, smooth, transparent & successful procurement process. have been trained. Alternatively, each profile could have its own set of levels. The conformance clause is a part or collection of parts of a specification that defines the requirements, criteria, or conditions that shall be satisfied by an implementation in order to claim conformance. These errors and ambiguities can then be fed back to the standards committee who developed the specification, for correction. 3. However, these methodologies all follow the same basic strategy - falsification testing; and the same basic process - analyze the specification for test assertions or test requirements, write a test purpose for each test, and create and document a test case which realizes each test purpose. Although policies and procedures are not issues for the standard specifications, the standards body may be involved in their development. this would be prohibitive. This button displays the currently selected search type. The understanding is that an implementation that is determined to satisfy each assertion will be considered to be in conformance to the standard. DOM Test Suite - NIST has developed a comprehensive set of tests that will check for compliance with the Document Object Model (DOM) Level 1 Recommendation. Contracting officers must assess the adequacy and applicability of any standards, specifications, including client-developed specifications, or purchase descriptions included by a client in the requisition. and to invite maximum reasonable competition. Dont forget that in order to affix the CE mark to your product and get the EU DoC you will need to create and submit the technical documentation that demonstrates that your product complies with EU regulations. In my opinion, as the data requirements on projects become more complex and we strive for more collaboration, it is crucial that everyone has the same basis of project requirements, and this makes specifications as essential now as they have ever been. Examples of conformance specification are: In this case the buyer simply explains problems the product should solve and the supplier provides such. If such a list is provided, the starting point for the development of the test suite is the list of assertions for the standard. In many of these cases the problem is not that the scope changed but that the original Specification was incomplete. We are not lawyers. Departments using performance specifications by bn reviewed by rh this procurement is being solicited as a small purchase request for quotation (rfq). An implementation is the realization of a specification -- it can be a software product, system, program, document, or web page. BRAND-NAME-OR-EQUAL SPECIFICATIONS: A There are different types of technical or engineering specifications (specs), and the term is used differently in different technical contexts. (b) Semiconductor devices and microcircuits not procured under a military specification shall be How do you know that the software conforms? Conformance to Specifications. Click here for Terms & Conditions. legitimate needs. Its use is called for where a structure or The suite may be a set of programs, a set of instructions for manual action, or another appropriate alternative. 0000066460 00000 n Specifications can be prepared in a prepare all specifications. 0000005693 00000 n Conformance testing is NOT a way to judge if one product is better than another. 0000004956 00000 n 0000004193 00000 n They can also be selected from a drop down menu, executed and results displayed. Chartered MCIPS. Though there are so many things that make a good well rounded specification im going to narrow it down to 4 simple factors; There should be only one way to interpret the requirements of the customer. The conformance clause identifies what must conform and how According to the FCC (47 CFR Section 2.906): Equipment that consists of only a radio transmitter (not a transceiver) such as remote control transmitters; land mobile radio transmitters and wireless medical telemetry transmitters are required to be approved using the certification procedure. Validation is the process of testing software for compliance with applicable specifications or standards. This safe guard protects both the Buyer and the Customer (internal or external). For example, American national standard ASQ/ANSI ID1:2021 defines aCertificate of Compliance as adocument from an authority certifying that the supplied products or services conform to specific and required specifications. In essence this is less rigid than conformance specification. This type of testing is called conformance testing. A good specification should do four things: (1) Identify minimum requirements, (2) allow for a competitive bid, (3) list reproducible test methods to be used in testing for compliance with specifications, and (4) provide for an equitable award at the lowest possible cost. This would include the documentation of how the testing is to be done and the directions for the tester to follow. These are certainly all legitimate requirements but they are far from complete. Materials used must be eliminates, items that are outside the boundaries drawn. conformity testing - conformity assessment by means of testing. 4M%m8Kxq@D0P- E62e(S4O#?s3,!Ms%iTZa5 @!.MOzNRU!+9nI Barbara Shayan, M.A, Six Sigma Green Belt Certified. Generally, there are two main types of specification, conformance and performance Conformance specification; In this case the buyer details exactly what the product must have, as in what they want the product to be like!. Here is one example. At last the month and year should be shown and the city, state, and country needs to be shown. The steps that lead towards conformance to specifications include defining quality characteristics of service or product, deciding on how to measure every quality characteristic, setting quality standards for every quality characteristic, controlling quality against the set quality standards, finding and correcting . 0000004431 00000 n (If the specifications don't describe the different approaches in the first place, then it's an implementer detail irrelevant to conformance.). to a single product and is the most restrictive kind of Conformance is how well realities match specifications, rules, principles and plans. The success here will obviously depend on how you frame your specifications. 1. The term "optional" is used to indicate that if an implementation is going to provide the specified functionality, then the specification must be followed. This is the official blog of Sofeast.com. According to a study by the Gartner Group[1], the private sector spends over $2.2 trillion on information technology (IT) annually. The tests are then executed and the results displayed. DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS: Design specification sets limits and thereby eliminates, or potentially approval for the product offered before bid opening. Ideally, it would be nice to prove beyond any doubt that an implementation is correct, consistent, and complete. Verifiability is related to the previous characteristic of the requirement being "Unambiguous". At the end of the 1-year period, the implementer would have to correct the errors to renew the certificate. goods or service must perform. Not all specifications or standards need a testing program. The alternative is falsification testing, a strategy that results in a level of confidence that an implementation conforms. Request for Proposals and purchase agreements commonly require conformance to these standards. `d 0@90@AA= .5@2:6: 12@7 KK;+MD 4p$? k9S:>P("hb YUE#5K>,46SCL- The buyer uses the results of the testing to verify that a seller provides a product that conforms to the specification and meet procurement requirements. Although there may be Others have qualified third party testing laboratories that apply the test suite according to the established policies and procedures. DEVELOPING SPECIFICATIONS: Although /Length 10 0 R In general, the . Additionally, the documentation should be detailed enough so that testing of a given implementation can be repeated with no change in test results. award at the lowest possible cost. Therefore, a CoC (whereby the blade manufacturer writes that the blades conform to specific checklists) must be provided. competitors that can supply the product, the department head has It would then be up to a purchaser to decide the criteria (how many or what kinds of errors) it wishes to use to make implementations eligible for purchase. Performance requirements describe the characteristics and Give examples of performance specification. number of ways. What are Performance/Output Based Specifications? 8 What does it mean to have a conformance clause? It is important to note that certification cannot exist without validation, but validation can exist without certification. ISO/IEC Guide 2[2] defines conformance (also referred to as conformity) as the fulfillment of a product, process, or service of specified requirements. Portability is the ability to move software programs or applications among different computer systems with minimal change. A buyer would typically ask for a CoC on products/components that are critical or high risk. 0000008579 00000 n Additional information about these test suites and the W3C Recommendations are available from: NIST http://xw2k.nist.gov/xml/index.html, OASIS http://www.oasis-open.org/committees. It is the most traditional kind of "functional" and "performance" are used Some may require that committees test the 0000003127 00000 n 9 0 obj Values that may be different for different conforming implementations of the standard, The color model(s), if any, supported by the standard, Test tool (e.g., tool, suite, and/or reference implementation, Organization(s) to do testing, issue certificates of validation, and arbitrate disputes. 2. Conformance tests are meant to provide the users of conforming products some assurance or confidence that the product behaves as expected, performs functions in a known manner, or has an interface or format that is known. These requirements are specified in a standard or specification as either part of a conformance clause or in the body of the specification. ISO/IEC TR 13233 defined conformance and conformity as "fulfillment by a product, process or service of all relevant specified conformance requirements." John Spacey, May 01, 2017. This approach, used in both the Public and Private sectors is best described Any other brands or models Interoperability is defined as the capability of two or more systems to exchange and use information. According to the EUs own guidance, your EU DoC should contain the following information: For imported products, theimporter must ensurethat the product is accompanied by the DoC and must keep a copy of it for 10 years after the product has been placed on the market. On the other hand, the policy might be that a certificate is issued (or a claim of conformance is made) only if no errors are found. Depending on the type of specification (e.g., application programming interface (API), protocol, programming language, metafile), there are various methodologies that can be used in developing conformance test suites. There are many assumed requirements that are real requirements from the users perspective. The test suite will focus on XSL transformations (XSLT) and XML Path Language (XPath). %PDF-1.2 Project Managers, in the pursuit of successful project management and to provide a timely, cost effective, quality service to their clients, may acquire personnel, goods and services during project execution; or personnel and services may be acquired by others, both within or outside the organization, to provide service in their specialty areas. 2) Actions - related to things such as functions, processes, ,procedures, services, performance. The CoC is sometimes called Certificate of Conformance or Certificate of Compliance. In contrast to the design approach, Extensions shall not re-define semantics for existing functions, Extensions shall not cause standard-conforming functions (i.e., functions that do not use the extensions) to execute incorrectly, The mechanism for determining application conformance and the extensions shall be clearly described in the documentation, and the extensions shall be marked as such. The ECMAScript suite allows the user to select a category of tests from a drop down menu. Conformance involves two major components: (1) a test tool and (2) a testing program (e.g., certification or branding). If the bid does not conform to the specification in all elements, it is not a bid at all; but a new proposition. It is a neutral mechanism to judge a product against the criteria of a standard or specification. It is generally inspected during customs clearance if the product being imported requires it. brand-name-or-equal specification cites one or more brand-names, 1.1 This specification covers the fabrication and supply of bare overhead transmission line conductors. Lets take an example. interchangeably to designate an approach to specifications that Tip - The purchase specification is to allow purchasing to seek competitive quotations by forwarding the purchase specification to prospective suppliers. manufacturers' names, brand names and model numbers, but it is The rationale for this is to be able to acknowledge all the implementations tested, but "reward" those implementations that "get it 100% correct". When expanded it provides a list of search options that will switch the search inputs to match the current selection. Purchasing will assist and advise you in tested and are considered equal, state testing methods Or even types of specifications when contracting, Specifications are statements of requirements to be satisfied in the supply of a product or service. If 0000001115 00000 n product will meet an intended need, there are at least ten A specification is often a type of technical standard. However, Specifications can be attributed in two ways; 1) Attributes - related to things such as the part, component or raw material. should be limited and justified before solicitation. PFi@("$0 (JDbyHA': F$%BIPAl4FP'aFYlO2f)m8c4&3 o7q$e9(#yd: These criteria and The problem here however is the chance that the person who raised the requisition may well change their mind or refine the specification as quotes begin to arrive. The decision to issue a certificate is based on the testing results and established criteria for issuing certificates. 3 What steps lead conformance to specification? 7. is less interested in dimensions and materials and configurations specifications must submit complete specifications with Product List (QPL). It is the basis of all offers and therefore the foundation for a contract. For NIST's participation in XML/DOM conformance testing, see "XML-Based Technologies. Once the item is delivered the specification can be used to compare the delivered item to what was ordered. Without a CoC, products may be impounded, confiscated, and in some case destroyed. For example, Apple maintains a page about EU compliance, and here is one of their DoCs. This reflects the thinking of the "IOR School" (Insti- tute for Operational Research). When all deviations and omissions are eliminated, the implementation conforms to the specification. The test suite should be platform independent, and should generate repeatable results. definitions of non-standard terms. a. [Importers Guide], What is a certificate of conformity (CoC). Procurement professionals need to come out of cost only mindset when such contracts are being evaluated. Specifications sometimes need to address: Specifications may describe several different ways to accomplish its operation (e.g., a choice of file formats or codes). Such an implementation provides a proof of concept of the standard and also provides a tool for the developers of the conformance test suite (by generating expected values, testing the test suite, etc.) What steps lead conformance to specification? Examples of conformance specification are: Engineering drawing A chemical formula Model name, number or brand etc 1.3 Upon request by the Owner, the Manufacturer at its expense shall provide, a ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. The main reason a CoC is required at customs is to prove a product that the product . Lock met to be considered responsive. article. both product and price competition requires that specifications It's important to have several calls/meetings with the requesting department to get more clarity about their needs, ask them to get piece of paper and write on it what they need whatever they can write! A lock ( All Goods provided by Contractor to Company shall conform to Company's applicable specifications, drawings, samples or other descriptions. 0000003961 00000 n brand-name specifications has the effect of limiting the bidding The other approach adopts the weaker overall requirement that, while extensions are allowed, an implementation must perform all the functionality in the specifications exactly as specified. 0000001477 00000 n Dimension of the box Length, Width & Height. The XSLT test suite will allow users to customize the test suite to filter out optional category tests. In other cases, batch CoC would be good enough. Operational teams view quality in terms of conformance to specifications. A good specification should do four things: (1) quantity scheduled purchases. The conformance clause may specify sets of functions, which may take the form of profiles, levels, or other structures. Do you have any other example on Conformance & Performance specifications? the methods for establishing and maintaining a QPL varies widely However, the responsible party or any other party marketing the equipment must provide a test report and other information demonstrating compliance with the rules upon request by the Commission. @hA hbF`h`. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. The conformance clause of a specification is a high-level description of what is required of implementations. Depending on the nature of the electronic device being imported, you will either need to go through a more comprehensive FCC certification or can submit your own Suppliers Declaration of Conformity. Lets look at the difference between the two: For RF Devices with the greatest potential to cause harmful interference to radio services like smartphones, Bluetooth speakers, earbuds, etc, that emit radiation a self-declaration is not acceptable to comply with FCC regulations and they must be certified by an FCC-recognized Telecommunication Certification Body (TCB) based on an evaluation of the supporting documentation and test data submitted by the responsible party (e.g., the manufacturer or importer) to the TCB. When expanded it provides a list of search options that will switch the search inputs to match the current selection. Without knowing whats really needed costs can be far higher than required and the solution procured for the business not fit for purpose. If the criteria or requirements for conformance are not specified, there can be no conformance testing. What makes a good specification in procurement? criteria for the purpose of qualifying the bid document. Testing should be performed by an FCC-recognized accredited testing laboratory.. ^O{f 0jlrG11lgjcBR8LLQ4Ms7Irl;%oOA?CECpd@{m1MS]81W_4;O,Wmw@:5(h1f up/}u,2 Et8ALC%Z7 #fc[,:RC oA_"IFWS.fL' rx0!% ^r2;u,{0rd@Ty !A34AEnKZX+1 n/o FCC (47 CFR Section 2.906) again states that the SDoC is: a procedure that requires the party responsible for compliance ensure that the equipment complies with the appropriate technical standards. contracting for buildings, highways, and other public works, and That school sees planning as "strategic Quality Assurance, Product Development, and Purchasing Strategies in China. Who does the testing? Inspections will be conducted on the products at delivery:6.1.1 Any defect on the products.6.1.2 Conformance to specifications and functionality.. Conformance to specifications requires formal data specifications, which may address any or all of data . 0000066307 00000 n A conformance test program needs to be supported by an advisory or control board, whose role is to resolve disputes and provide technical guidance. A reference implementation has maximum value in the early stages of a conformance program. Notwithstanding this spending, 50% to 70% of all major software projects fail due to software quality and interoperability problems. A specification details the requirements of the procurement. AnEU declaration of conformity(DoC) is a mandatory document that you as a manufacturer or your authorised representative need to sign to declare that your products comply with the EU requirements. Quality standards are defined as documents that provide requirements, specifications, guidelines, or characteristics that can be used consistently to ensure that materials, products, processes, and services are fit for their purpose. What does it mean to have a conformance clause? Vendors should be provided the Correct implementation and utilization of standards leads to portability and interoperability.