By definition, a BioPreferred Program - Federal Purchasing. Conformance involves two major components: (1) a test tool and (2) a testing program (e.g., certification or branding). The alternative is falsification testing, which subjects an implementation to various combinations of legal and illegal inputs, and compares the resulting output to a set of corresponding "expected results." This button displays the currently selected search type. 0000003930 00000 n 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. a specification should be written to encourage, not discourage, A good specification should do four things: (1) Levels are nested subsets of the specifications. In these cases, it may be desirable to partition the specifications into subsets of functionality. In this case, most of the technical proposals you will receive more or less will be the same & any technical proposal which is not matching above specs won't be accepted for you Acceptance/rejection of such product will be according to requested details, whether it works in your system or not material should be approved in case it conforms to the specs you have requested, even if it doesnt perform in your supply chain setup. model numbers, or other designations that identify the specific On the one hand, a conformance certificate (or a claim of conformance) might only state that an implementation had been tested to completion, and provide a list of the errors that were found. Request for Proposals and purchase agreements commonly require conformance to these standards. 0000003290 00000 n The procurement function generally acts as the middle-man between the customer whether it be internal or external and suppliers. Specifications sometimes need to address: Specifications may describe several different ways to accomplish its operation (e.g., a choice of file formats or codes). In order to test that a specification is faithfully adhered to, one must carefully examine the specification and compare the implementation's result against the syntax and semantics contained in the specification. Two sets of test suites were built, one for DOM with an ECMAScript binding and the other with a Java binding. specifications customarily employ dimensional and other physical Performance responsibilities focus on strategy, value creation and resource utilization whereas conformance responsibilities focus on providing assurance to stakeholders that the organization . 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. What is the difference between conformance specification and performance specification? Typically, the decision to establish a testing program is based on weighing the benefits achieved by obtaining conformance versus the costs of creating and running a validation and certification program. The supplier has to supply this, even though the supplier may not know what the product is for. 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. Barbara Shayan, M.A, Six Sigma Green Belt Certified. Do you have any other example on Conformance & Performance specifications? Vendors should be provided the used to establish the QPL and indicate steps to be taken The difference between the performance dimension and the conformance dimension is that the former is more forward-looking and the later backward-looking. Haytham Abdel-Rahman, MBA. This free eBook shows importers who are new to outsourcing production to China or Vietnam the five key foundations of a proven Quality Assurance strategy, and also shows you some common traps that importers fall intoandhow to avoid or overcome them in order to get the best possible production results. I will be discussing topics covering all aspects of the Supply chain (particularly Procurement) fuctions, Change Managment ideas and theories and IT software solutions (General focus being ERPSystems such as INFOR M3)For business needs. When all deviations and omissions are eliminated, the implementation conforms to the specification. Falsification testing can only demonstrate non-conformance. the sealed bidding terminology as used throughout these specifications is synonymous with their negotiated procurement counterpart unless specifically stated otherwise. According to a study by the Gartner Group[1], the private sector spends over $2.2 trillion on information technology (IT) annually. for different products. However, this is generally impossible for implementations of nontrivial specifications. Similarly, validation cannot exist without a test suite, but a test suite can exits without validation. 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. A conformance clause is a section of a specification that states all the requirements or criteria that must be satisfied to claim conformance to the specification. Give examples of conformance specification. Conformance and Performance Specifications 1. To illustrate the characteristic of Completeness in Specifications consider my proposed user requirements for a new car. product has to be specially made to meet the purchaser's unique Specifications can be prepared in a Interoperability is defined as the capability of two or more systems to exchange and use information. A reference implementation has maximum value in the early stages of a conformance program. If the bid does not conform to the specification in all elements, it is not a bid at all; but a new proposition. These errors and ambiguities can then be fed back to the standards committee who developed the specification, for correction. Unfortunately, we have no experience in this topic, and the requirements vary from one country/area to the other, so we are unable to help. 0000069347 00000 n They can then make any necessary corrections to allow the implementation to conform. Some standards have subsequent documentation for the test methodology and assertions to be tested. specification is less interested in how a product is made, and (If the specifications don't describe the different approaches in the first place, then it's an implementer detail irrelevant to conformance.). Conformance testing is NOT a way to judge if one product is better than another. ! XML Test Suite is available from the NIST web site, http://xw2k.nist.gov/xml/index.html. % For example, ideally it should be possible to fully test a product's conformance before sign-off and deployment. a. Generically, a conformance test suite is a collection of combinations of legal and illegal inputs to the implementation being tested, together with a corresponding collection of "expected results." Equipment that only contains digital circuitry (does not contain a radio transmitter) such as computer peripherals, microwave ovens consumer ISM equipment, switching power supplies, LED light bulbs, radio receivers and TV interface devices are subject to approval using the SDoC procedure or may optionally use the certification procedure. Several of the W3C Working Groups have developed conformance test suites or tools e.g., SVG, CSS, and HTML. 0000002964 00000 n competitors that can supply the product, the department head has Testing should be performed by an FCC-recognized accredited testing laboratory.. These requirements are specified in a standard or specification as either part of a conformance clause or in the body of the specification. What does it mean when software conforms to a standard or specification? DEFINITIONS 2.1 Centroidal Area. Conformance is usually defined as testing to see if an implementation faithfully meets the requirements of a standard or specification. A defect can lead to a failure that might result in loss of life. There is sometimes confusion between the two terms, however, in most cases, these two terms mean exactly the same thing and often comes down to the personal preference of the company that needs the certificate. Performance purchasing is results orientated in terms 0000002465 00000 n A testing laboratory can be an organization or individual, and can either be accredited from a formal accreditation organization such as NIST's National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) or recognized by the buyer, seller, and certificate issuer, as qualified to perform the testing. CoC for importing consumer goods in the USA, Certification authorization vs. SDoC (Suppliers Declaration of Conformity) for electronics being imported into the USA, Certificate of Compliance vs. 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. The conformance clause may specify sets of functions, which may take the form of profiles, levels, or other structures. If such a list is provided, the starting point for the development of the test suite is the list of assertions for the standard. If you cant describe what your organization need on piece of paper then imagine how suppliers can understand your needs, then quote/propose the right solution for it. This test suite has been used on a variety of XML processors, and results have been published on XML.com. Sometimes, its really challenging to collect/get what your organization need .. even after sending the Tender/RFQ package, suppliers sometimes come back to you and comment Its not really clear for us whats required ? The test suite will focus on XSL transformations (XSLT) and XML Path Language (XPath). interchangeably to designate an approach to specifications that These extensions may eventually migrate into future versions of the standard. Environment working temperature is between 15C 40C. The best position is to list The CoC is sometimes called Certificate of Conformance or Certificate of Compliance. 0000010532 00000 n This is the official blog of Sofeast.com. The CoC is sometimes called Certificate of Conformance or Certificate of Compliance. Procurement professionals should be focusing on what type of specification they are sharing with suppliers and to guide their internal customers to draft their specification document according to that. Examples of Conformance to specifications in a sentence. 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. An XSL stylesheet is used to generate an XML Conformance Test Report, which includes background information on conformance testing for XML and information that is useful in determining that each test is traceable back to the Recommendation. Conformance to specifications means to meet any requirements defined for the product, not only regulatory. sound evaluation criteria. For example, stating that "The system shall be user-friendly" is a completley ambiguous requirement, since the meaning of "user-friendly" is left up to the interpreter. This makes the purchasing process inefficient. By signing the DoC you takefull responsibilityfor your products compliance with the applicable EU law. brand-name specifications has the effect of limiting the bidding What is the definition of quality of conformance? Once the item is delivered the specification can be used to compare the delivered item to what was ordered. 0000008556 00000 n The conformance clause identifies what must conform and how ISO/IEC Guide 2[2] defines conformance (also referred to as conformity) as the fulfillment of a product, process, or service of specified requirements. Identification of any third-party laboratory on whos testing the certificate depends: Provide the name, full mailing address, and telephone number of the third-party laboratory. Product List (QPL). There are two types of specifications, Design and Performance. Performance requirements describe the characteristics and procurement program and to evaluate the implementation of quality assurance (QA) program requirements that ensure that the appropriate structural concrete meeting approved concrete specifications is used in the UPF construction activities. Additionally it may specify the permissibility of extensions, options, and alternative approaches and how they are to be handled. arrived at by a systematic and formal process. is characteristic of construction or personal services contracts. The decision to issue a certificate is based on the testing results and established criteria for issuing certificates. XSLT Test Suite NIST is working with W3C and the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS) to develop a comprehensive test suite for the Extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL) processors. Importers of some consumer electronic products that intentionally or non-intentionally emit radiation between 9kHz to 3,000 GHz radio frequency range including personal computers, fans, power stations for devices, LED lights, TV remotes, etc, into the USA must issue a Suppliers Declaration of Conformity (SDoC) which is supported by lab tests that may or may not be performed by an FCC-recognized and accredited lab as long as the testing is correct according to the standards (or may also choose to get the product certified as described above in some cases). These requirements are specified in a standard or specification as either part of a conformance clause or in the body of the specification. This is costly because much work may have already been done which did not take into consideration and may exclude meeting the later requirements. Definitions - what is conformance (to a standard)? Quality of conformance is the ability of a product, service, or process to meet its design specifications. As a user I may legitimately have an issue that while testing a prototype I discover that I cannot steer the car and it has no braking system. The responsible party, who must be located in the United States, is not required to file an equipment authorization application with the Commission or a TCB. A specification details the requirements of the procurement. Certain countries request a CoC for certain categories of imported products. 5(1). Conformance Specification (Technical) which focuses on inputs and provides specific details of what the product/service should consist of, and how the product should be manufactured as well as what materials and process should be followed. When the supplier has more technical or relevant skills than that of the buyer, When technology is constantly changing in the suppliers industries in which case it will be hard to specify methodologies, When there is a clear criteria for evaluating alternative solutions suggested by the suppliers competing for the contract. Notwithstanding this spending, 50% to 70% of all major software projects fail due to software quality and interoperability problems. service that ill satisfy a particular need at an economical cost In the event of a dispute or other commercial issues the specification can provide a formal method of identifying what the purchaser wanted against what was delivered. 8 What does it mean to have a conformance clause? Early stage specifications can be seen as part of the review with the customer (internal or external) about what they are looking to achieve on the project. The performance In 1996 ISO/IEC Guide 2 defined the three major terms used in this field. It may also be called a certificate of conformance or certificate of conformity.. requirements. 0000005716 00000 n 5. For ensure testability of a specification/standard, care should be taken in the wording of the specifications itself. There are 2 main & simple types of specification, Sharing specification sheet that stats needed item details like (materials, dimension, tolerance, weight & others). In this example, while the mattresses were not required to be tested by a third party laboratory, the mattress manufacturer voluntarily chose to do so and must provide the information about that laboratory. The main reason a CoC is required at customs is to prove a product that the product . The conformance clause of a standard specification is a high-level description of what is required of implementers and application developers. This board should be a body of impartial experts. Date and place where the product was manufactured. 20899 USA, Email: lisa.carnahan [at] nist.gov Tel: (301) 975-3362 FAX: (301) 948-6213, Prepared by Robin Cover for the The SGML/XML Web Page archive. If the criteria or requirements for conformance are not specified, there can be no conformance testing. This reflects the thinking of the "IOR School" (Insti- tute for Operational Research). specification, having been used historically in public Is this a requirement that comes from a particular type of user? Applications often do not require all the features within a standard. It is generally inspected during customs clearance if the product being imported requires it. Official websites use .gov the methods for establishing and maintaining a QPL varies widely 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. Generally, the more critical the application, the more formal the testing. 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. Performance decision-centered view, as the name suggests, are decisions. Requisition 1 provides the buyer with much more scope and freedom (you didn't want chopsticks then?). This is called strict conformance. There must be sufficient basis to determine that these QUALIFIED PRODUCT LIST (QPL): A to a single product and is the most restrictive kind of Design specifications are an interpretation of what the customer needs. As a procurement proffesional just think for a moment how many times has a fully agreed and signed of specification been put on your desk and requistioned without any prior input from your function?