Overview
ISO/IEC 9646-5:1994 - part of the ISO/IEC 9646 series - defines requirements for test laboratories and clients engaged in OSI conformance assessment. This second edition (1994) cancels the 1991 edition and focuses on ensuring consistent, comparable results when different laboratories test similar OSI implementations. It prescribes roles, required exchanges of information, and the structure of test reports, and provides guidance for the conformance assessment process.
Key topics and technical requirements
- Scope and purpose
- Applies to conformance assessment of OSI (and ISDN) base and profile specifications using Abstract Test Methods (ATMs) and Means of Testing (MOT).
- Aims to minimize variation across test laboratories to achieve comparable test outcomes.
- Three-phase conformance assessment process
- Preparation for testing: requirements for SUT testability, documentation exchange, and communication between test laboratory and client.
- Test operations: static conformance review, test selection and parameterization, verification of test coordination procedures, test campaigns, and handling of negotiated exits.
- Test report production: structure and content of conformance test reports.
- Required documentation and exchanges
- System Conformance Statement (SCS), Implementation Conformance Statement (ICS), Implementation Extra Information for Testing (IXIT), and for profiles, Profile Test Specification Summary.
- Client and test-laboratory checklists and roles (client test manager, test laboratory manager, test operator, SUT operator).
- Test artifacts and templates
- Annexes provide templates and proformas, including System Conformance Test Report (SCTR) and Protocol Conformance Test Report (PCTR) templates, and an IXIT skeleton.
- Interoperability with other 9646 parts
- What it excludes
- Does not cover accreditation of test labs, certification schemes, or production of diagnostic trace logs beyond the conformance log.
Practical applications - who uses it
- Third-party, first-party, and second-party test laboratories implementing conformance assessment services for OSI protocols.
- Client organizations (implementers, suppliers, procurers) preparing an implementation for testing and supplying SCS/ICS/IXIT data.
- Test realizers, accreditation bodies, and certification authorities using standardized conformance reports and templates.
- Useful for teams implementing or procuring OSI/ISDN-compliant systems who need repeatable, comparable conformance testing processes.
Related standards
Keywords: ISO/IEC 9646-5, conformance testing, OSI, test laboratory requirements, Implementation Conformance Statement (ICS), IXIT, SCTR, PCTR, Abstract Test Suite (ATS), Means of Testing (MOT), TTCN.
Open preview (PDF)Information technology — Open Systems Interconnection — Conformance testing methodology and framework — Part 5: Requirements on test laboratories and clients for the conformance assessment process
