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{{Refimprove|date=December 2009}}
'''Conformance testing''' or '''type testing''' is testing to determine whether a product or system or just a medium complies with the requirements of a [[specification]], [[contract]] or [[regulation]]. This may apply to various technical terms as well as to pure formal terms with respect to obligations of the contractors. '''Conformity assessment''', also known as '''compliance assessment''',<ref name=rihc>{{cite web |last = [[International Committee for Information Technology Standards]] |first = |authorlink = |author2 = |title = Report on Issues for Harmonizing Conformity Assessment to Biometric Standards |work = |publisher = |date = |url = http://www.incits.org/tc_home/m1htm/docs/m1050067.pdf |format = |doi = |accessdate=2009-04-12 }}</ref><ref name=sfsm>{{cite web |last = [[International Software Benchmarking Standards Group]] |first = |authorlink = |author2 = |title = ISO Standard for Functional Size Measurement |work = |publisher = |date = |url = http://www.isbsg.org/ISBSGnew.nsf/WebPages/C5908EE2873DA659CA25734E00175B3C |format = |doi = |accessdate=2009-04-12}}</ref><ref name=trtm>{{cite web |last = [[NIST]] |first = |authorlink = |author2 = |title = Part 3 Testing Requirements - Chapter 5: Test Methods |work = |publisher = |date = |url = http://xsun.sdct.itl.nist.gov/tgdc/vvsg/part3/chapter05.php |format = |doi = |accessdate=2009-04-12}}</ref> is any activity to determine, directly or indirectly, that a process, product, or service meets relevant [[technical standard]]s and fulfills relevant requirements.<ref>[http://www.iso.ch/iso/en/CatalogueDetailPage.CatalogueDetail?CSNUMBER=39976&ICS1=1&ICS2=120&ICS3=&scopelist=CATALOGUE ISO/IEC Guide 2:2004]</ref>
Conformity assessment activities may include:
* [[Test method|Testing]]
* [[Surveillance]]
* [[Inspection]]
* [[Auditing]]
* [[Certification]]
* [[Accreditation]]
Additionally, the [[World Trade Organisation]] (WTO) governs conformity assessment through the '''Agreement on Mutual Recognition in Relation to Conformity Assessment''' (Signed July 4, 2000)
Testing is often either [[event condition action|logical test]]ing or [[physical test]]ing. The test procedures may involve other criteria from [[test functions for optimization|mathematical testing]] or [[chemical test]]ing. Beyond simple conformance other requirements for efficiency, interoperability or compliance may apply.
To aid in the aim towards a conformance proof, various test procedures and test setups have been developed, either by the standard's maintainers or external auditing organizations, specifically for testing conformance to standards. Conformance testing is performed preferably by independent organizations, which may be the standards body itself, to give sound assurance of compliance.
Products tested conformance may then become advertised as being certified by the testing organization as complying with the referred [[technical standard]]. Service providers, equipment manufacturers, and equipment suppliers rely on such qualified data to ensure [[Quality of Service]] (QoS) through this conformance process.
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* Electronic and electrical engineering
* Medical procedure proofing
* Pharmaceutics compatibility
* Software engineering
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Hence conformance testing leads to a vast set of documents and files that allow for re-iterating all performed tests.
== Software engineering ==
In [[software testing]], conformance testing verifies that a product performs according to its specified standards. [[Compiler]]s, for instance, are extensively tested to determine whether they meet the recognized standard for that language.
== Electronic and electrical engineering ==
In [[electronic engineering]] and [[electrical engineering]], some countries and business environments (such as telecommunication companies) require that an electronic product meet certain requirements before they can be sold. Standards for telecommunication products written by standards organizations such as [[American National Standards Institute|ANSI]], the [[Federal Communications Commission|FCC]], and [[International Electrotechnical Commission|IEC]], etc., have certain criteria that a product must meet before compliance is recognized. In countries such as Japan, China, Korea, and some parts of Europe, products cannot be sold unless they are known to meet those requirements specified in the standards. Usually, manufacturers set their own requirements to ensure product quality, sometimes with levels much higher than what the governing bodies require. Compliance is realized after a product passes a series of tests without occurring some specified mode of failure. Failure levels are usually set depending on what environment the product will be sold in. For instance, test on a product for used in an industrial environment will not be as stringent as a product used in a residential area. A failure can include data corruption, loss of communication, and irregular behavior.
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Compliance test for electronic devices include emissions tests, immunity tests, and safety tests. Emissions tests ensure that a product will not emit harmful electromagnetic interference in communication and power lines. Immunity tests ensure that a product is immune to common electrical signals and [[Electromagnetic interference]] (EMI) that will be found in its operating environment, such as [[electromagnetic radiation]] from a local radio station or interference from nearby products. Safety tests ensure that a product will not create a safety risk from situations such as a failed or shorted power supply, blocked cooling vent, and powerline [[voltage spike]]s and dips.<!-- you might also test to see if the thing does what the customers think they are paying for -->
For example, the telecommunications research and development company [[Telcordia Technologies]] publishes conformance standards for telecommunication equipment to pass the following tests:<ref>[http://telecom-info.telcordia.com/site-cgi/ido/docs.cgi?ID=SEARCH&DOCUMENT=GR-1089& GR-1089, Electromagnetic Compatibility and Electrical Safety - Generic Criteria for Network Telecommunications Equipment]</ref>
; Radiated immunity : An [[antenna (electronics)|antenna]] is used to subject the device to [[electromagnetic waves]], covering a large frequency range (usually from 30 MHz to 2.9 GHz).
; Radiated emissions : One or more antennas are used to measure the amplitude of the electromagnetic waves that a device emits. The amplitude must be under a set limit, with the limit depending on the device's classification.
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; Powerline surge immunity : A surge is applied to the line voltage.
== Telecom and datacom protocols ==
In protocol testing, [[TTCN-3]] has been used successfully to deploy a number of test systems, including protocol conformance testers for [[Session Initiation Protocol|SIP]], [[WiMAX]], and [[DSRC]].
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Based on 3GPP and non-3GPP specification, the test equipment vendors develops the test cases and validated by the bodies.
== Standardization ==
The international standards of the topic are published by [[International Organization for Standardization|ISO]] and covered in the divisions of ICS 03.120.20 for management<ref name=pccc>{{cite web |last = [[International Organization for Standardization]] |first = |authorlink = |author2 = |title = 03.120.20: Product and company certification. Conformity assessment |work = |publisher = |date = |url = http://www.iso.org/iso/products/standards/catalogue_ics_browse.htm?ICS1=03&ICS2=120&ICS3=20& |format = |doi = |accessdate=2009-04-10}}</ref> and ICS 23.040.01 for technical.<ref name=pcpg>{{cite web |last = [[International Organization for Standardization]] |first = |authorlink = |author2 = |title = 23.040.01: Pipeline components and pipelines in general |work = |publisher = |date = |url = http://www.iso.org/iso/products/standards/catalogue_ics_browse.htm?ICS1=23&ICS2=040&ICS3=01& |format = |doi = |accessdate=2009-04-10}}</ref> Other standalone [[International Organization for Standardization|ISO]] standards for the topic include
* ''ISO/TR 13881:2000 Petroleum and natural gas industries—Classification and conformity assessment of products, processes and services''<ref name=pngi>{{cite web |last = [[International Organization for Standardization]] |first = |authorlink = |author2 = |title = ISO/TR 13881:2000 Petroleum and natural gas industries -- Classification and conformity assessment of products, processes and services |work = |publisher = |date = |url = http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=23137 |format = |doi = |accessdate=2009-04-10}}</ref>
* ''ISO 18436-4:2008 Condition monitoring and diagnostics of machines—Requirements for qualification and assessment of personnel—Part 4: Field lubricant analysis''<ref name=cmdm>{{cite web |last = [[International Organization for Standardization]] |first = |authorlink = |author2 = |title = ISO 18436-4:2008 Condition monitoring and diagnostics of machines -- Requirements for qualification and assessment of personnel -- Part 4: Field lubricant analysis |work = |publisher = |date = |url = http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=37395 |format = |doi = |accessdate=2009-04-10}}</ref>
* ''ISO/IEC 18009:1999 Information technology—Programming languages—Ada: Conformity assessment of a language processor'' <ref name=itpl>{{cite web |last = [[International Organization for Standardization]] |first = |authorlink = |author2 = |title = ISO/IEC 18009:1999 Information technology -- Programming languages -- Ada: Conformity assessment of a language processor |work = |publisher = |date = |url = http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=31051 |format = |doi = |accessdate=2009-04-10
}}</ref>
== See also ==
{{Portal|Software Testing}}
* [[Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance]]
* [[Quality infrastructure]]
* [[Standards organizations]]
== References ==
<references/>
== External links ==
* {{cite web|url=http://www.iso.org/iso/home/about/conformity-assessment.htm|title=What is conformity assessment?|publisher=ISO|accessdate=2016-09-16}}
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[[Category:Software testing]]
[[Category:Product testing]]
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