Description of BS ISO 10303-31:1994 1995

This part of ISO 10303, which introduces the series of parts devoted to conformance testing, specifies a general methodology and framework for testing the conformance of an implementation of ISO 10303. During conformance testing, such an implementation is termed an IUT (implementation under test).

NOTE - Figure 1 is a pictorial representation of the relation between the various standards and some of the concepts of conformance testing. The roles of other parts of ISO 10303 are documented in ISO 10303-1.

1.1 Applicability of this series of parts

This series of parts is applicable to the phases of the conformance testing process, these phases being characterised by the following major activities:

1. the definition of abstract test suites for ISO 10303 application protocols;

2. the definition of abstract test, methods for ISO 10303 implementation methods;

3. the conformance assessment process carried out by a testing laboratory for a client, culminating in the production of a conformance test report.

1.2 Applicability of this part of ISO 10303

This part of ISO 10303 is applicable to all of the above activities, providing introductory material, normative requirements on each part of this series, and definitions of common terms and concepts.

1.3 Coverage of this series of parts

This series of parts specifies the requirements for and gives guidance on the procedures to be followed in conformance testing for ISO 10303. This series of parts includes only such information as is necessary to meet the following objectives:

Figure 1 Relationship between conformance testing standards and other series of parts

1. to achieve an adequate level of confidence in the tests as a, measure of conformance;

2. to achieve comparability between the results of the corresponding tests applied in different places at different times;

3. to facilitate communication between the parties responsible for the activities described in (a) and (b).

Requirements for procurement and contracts are outside the scope of this series of parts.

Testing by means of test methods which are specific to particular applications or systems is outside the scope of this series of parts.

The framework established by this part of ISO 10303 includes the concept of executable test suites. These, by their very nature, cannot be standardised; consequently, standardisation of executable test suites is outside the scope of this series of parts.

1.4 Coverage of this part of ISO 10303

This part of ISO 10303 provides introductory material, which is expanded further in the remaining parts of this series of parts of ISO 10303, including:

1. an exposition of the meaning of conformance in the context of ISO 10303;

2. a description of basic and capability tests;

3. an introduction to the conformance assessment process;

4. an introduction to the abstract test methods and their applicability;

5. an introduction to the concepts of abstract test suite design.

The procedures required for testing the conformance of an implementation of ISO 10303 are outside the scope of this part of ISO 10303, but are addressed in ISO 10303-34.

The following types of testing are all outside the scope of this part of ISO 10303.

(user) acceptance testing: the process of determining whether an implementation satisfies acceptance criteria and enables the user to determine whether to accept the system. This includes the planning and execution of several kinds of tests (e.g., functional, volume, performance tests) to demonstrate the implemented software satisfies the user requirements.

interoperability testing: related to acceptance testing, but applied to the examination of the information exchange and sharing between two specific IUTs and the ability of each IUT to use such information.

performance testing: measures the performance characteristics of an IUT, such as its throughput, response time, number of transactions, and responsiveness under various conditions.

robustness testing: the process of determining how well an IUT processes data which contains errors.

This part of ISO 10303 provides a framework for certification (an administrative procedure which may follow conformance testing) in annex D. However, there is no ISO requirement for an implementation of ISO 10303 to undergo certification or conformance testing.

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