Conformance Testing

Conformance Testing is a software testing technique used to certify that the software system complies with the standards and regulations as defined by IEEE, W3C or ETSI. The purpose of conformance testing is to determine how a system under test confirms to meet the individual requirements of a particular standard. Conformance Testing is also called Compliance Testing

It may deal with some technical aspect but intentionally it includes:

• Performance
• Functions
• Robustness
• Interoperability
• Behavior of system

Types of Conformance Testing

Conformance Testing can be logical or physical, and it comprises following types of testing;

• Compliance Testing
• Load Testing
• Stress Testing
• Volume Testing

When and how to perform Conformance Testing?

• When we need to check the system’s overall consistency, completeness and correctness with respect to requirement specifications at that point conformance testing are performed
• There are several methodologies for performing it not much different from our Development Life cycle Stages such as;
• Analyzing requirements specifications
• Preparing test plan
• Preparing test cases and its purpose
• Create documentation for prepared test designs
• We need to focus on some additional aspects of specifications such as subsets, which are generally of three types such as ‘Profile’, ‘Level’ and ‘Modules’.
• Profile is a subset of specifications which includes system’s functionality to satisfy requirements and dedicated to a particular group of users
• Levels are nested subset of specifications where Level1 indicates basic specifications and Level2 indicates Level1 + additional/new functionalities
• Modules are collection of significantly correlated standards and specifications

Conformance Testing Process

Conformance Testing Process or Compliance Testing Process is necessary to ensure efficiency, performance and to avoid future risks for a software application. An effective conformance testing includes following step by step process :

1. Analysing Standards and Specifications
2. Selecting Test tools and Test suite
3. Designing Testing Procedures
4. Checking necessary validations
5. Adapting relevant testing policies and certifications