conformance specification in procurement conformance specification in procurement

They rely on self-assessment by the implementer (1st party testing) and acceptance testing by buyers. Once the item is delivered the specification can be used to compare the delivered item to what was ordered. A reference implementation is an implementation of a standard that is by definition conformant to that standard. 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. This type of testing is called conformance testing. 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." They can then make any necessary corrections to allow the implementation to conform. Specifications can be prepared in a 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. The CoC is sometimes called Certificate of Conformance or Certificate of Compliance. 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. This button displays the currently selected search type. Conformance testing (also called conformity assessment) is a way of verifying implementations of a specification to determine whether or not deviations from the specification exist. article. Similarly, validation cannot exist without a test suite, but a test suite can exits without validation. The duty of Procurement to promote The performance 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. These requirements are specified in a standard or specification as either part of a conformance clause or in the body of the specification. Often a hybrid of these is appropriate -- i.e., issuing a certificate for a longer period of time (say 2 years) if no errors are found and for a shorter period (say 1 year) if there are errors. Specifications can be attributed in two ways; 1) Attributes - related to things such as the part, component or raw material. Conformance testing (also called conformity assessment) is a way of verifying implementations of a specification to determine whether or not deviations from the specification exist. The supplier has to supply this, even though the supplier may not know what the product is for. An example would be a recipe for a food . The test documentation describes how the testing is to be done and the directions for the tester to follow. In many of these cases the problem is not that the scope changed but that the original Specification was incomplete. legitimate needs. 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. defined in the bid invitation. Conformance tests should be used by implementers early-on in the development process, to improve the quality of their implementations and by industry associations wishing to administer a testing and certification program. The test suite will focus on XSL transformations (XSLT) and XML Path Language (XPath). products before soliciting competitive bids. Although the terms validation and conformance testing are often interchanged, they are not the same. 2) Actions - related to things such as functions, processes,. In 1996 ISO/IEC Guide 2 defined the three major terms used in this field. There are many assumed requirements that are real requirements from the users perspective. Interoperability is defined as the capability of two or more systems to exchange and use information. 0000009274 00000 n Materials used must be %PDF-1.3 % A conformance test program needs to be supported by an advisory or control board, whose role is to resolve disputes and provide technical guidance. Two sets of test suites were built, one for DOM with an ECMAScript binding and the other with a Java binding. The success here will obviously depend on how you frame your specifications. I like the point about cost only .. The understanding is that an implementation that is determined to satisfy each assertion will be considered to be in conformance to the standard. All Goods provided by Contractor to Company shall conform to Company's applicable specifications, drawings, samples or other descriptions. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. The decision to issue a certificate is based on the testing results and established criteria for issuing certificates. 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. Tip - The purchase specification is to allow purchasing to seek competitive quotations by forwarding the purchase specification to prospective suppliers. A conformance testing program usually includes: A specification/standard that includes a conformance clause and a test tools are essential to defining and measuring conformance. 2 What are the types of specification in procurement? SPP Regions Expert Workshop - Copenhagen June 15th 2016 Performance / Output Based Specifications (POBS) are the foundation for a purchasing approach commonly called Performance Based Contracting. brand-name-or-equal specification cites one or more brand-names, developing your specifications, however, Procurement does not should be limited and justified before solicitation. Get in touch with me and I will give you a tailored recommendation or quotation. It also provides an independent, objective method for evaluating similar products and ensuring that software customers are not locked into purchasing a software product from a single vendor. Procurement serves as the primary and to invite maximum reasonable competition. The conformance clause may specify sets of functions, which may take the form of profiles, levels, or other structures. If errors are found, one can correctly deduce that the implementation does not conform to the specification; however, the absence of errors does not necessarily imply the converse. Conformance to specifications means to meet any requirements defined for the product, not only regulatory. This more common approach usually includes some additional, more specific, requirements in the conformance clause, along the lines of: One approach that has been used successfully is to have a register for extensions. If such a list is provided, the starting point for the development of the test suite is the list of assertions for the standard. There are two types of specifications, Design and Performance. Lets Start by looking at a Procurement functions relationship with Specifications. DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS: Design Acceptance/rejection of such item needed will be according to the performance stated in the specification With performance specs, it will take more time for the procurement process as you may get totally different proposals and you need to discuss and validate them internally; however it opens the door for innovation as suppliers are free to suggest any workable solution which may improve functionality, cost & to be more sustainable option it's very suitable in case requesting department is not very well established so that you will be depending on suppliers' experience. PERFORMANCE SPECIFICATIONS: The terms Sharing what is the required performance of this item without stating item details like (what is the required output of certain machine, which product will be manufactured by this required item, what is the challenge that company is facing & others). Equipment authorized under the SDoC procedure is not listed in a Commission database. 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. There are two main types of specification when contracting namely: #1 CONFORMANCE SPECIFICATION With this type of specification the buyer says what they want and how they want it and the supplier has to meet this Examples of conformance specification are: Engineering drawing A chemical formula Model name, number or brand etc 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. or other required characteristics should be clearly quotation request Good thoughts Diaa..Performance specifications focuses on supplier partnership. Finally, the testing policy and procedure should identify and define the actions of the organization(s) responsible for conducting the tests, handling disputes, and issuing certificates (or brands) of validation. prepare all specifications. both product and price competition requires that specifications 1.2 Upon request by the Owner, the Manufacturer at its expense shall provide proof of conformance with any or all requirements of this specification. It is generally inspected during customs clearance if the product being imported requires it. this sense means that the specification concentrates on how the It is also possible that implementations may not be able to implement all the features. 0000005716 00000 n The CoC is sometimes called Certificate of Conformance or Certificate of Compliance. Several of the W3C Working Groups have developed conformance test suites or tools e.g., SVG, CSS, and HTML. What is specification? 5. Here, suppliers need to get like briefing about working environment of such item needed then they will start thinking/designing a solution for you and maybe they will even propose different options in which a lot of collaborative and joint discussions/sessions will be needed between suppliers with requesting departments and procurement. It is the most traditional kind of 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. ? .. or you receive totally different proposals .. specification sets limits and thereby eliminates, or potentially It is a neutral mechanism to judge a product against the criteria of a standard or specification. (IUT) is the object that is being tested for conformance. Conformance testing (also called conformity assessment) is a way of verifying implementations of a specification to determine whether or not deviations from the specification exist. Haytham Abdel-Rahman, MBA. 7. Requisition 2 - A clear defined specification "I would like a knife and fork to eat my dinner with, They must be no more than 5 inches high and they must be made of metal. all necessary drawings, dimensions, terms, and The rationale for an expiration date is that the technology, test suite, and/or specification will probably change and this forces the implementation to be retested. The process for developing conformance test suites begins with defining the set of test assertions (TA) upon which the test suite is based. Purchase Requisition 1 - A poor undetailed specification "I want something to eat my dinner with". Accompanying the actual test files is an XML test description file that contains pertinent information for each of the tests included in the distribution. 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. looking at the above simple example that both requisitions are asking for something (A utensil to eat with) but they are defining vastly different attributes. Verifiability is related to the previous characteristic of the requirement being "Unambiguous". 8 What does it mean to have a conformance clause? a. https://www.nist.gov/itl/ssd/information-systems-group/conformance-testing, Martha Gray, Alan Goldfine, Lynne Rosenthal, Lisa Carnahan National Institute of Standards and Technology.