For obvious reasons, all you testing geeks indirectly give more preference to Functional testing of your software products. Though it’s true that it makes the product easier to use and responsive, it is not enough. A fine tester always gives equal importance to the Non-Functional testing.

There are so many aspects of non-functional testing which affect the health and performance of your software product in the long run.

Beware! It can ultimately become hazardous to the success of your product.

Out of those various aspects, Compliance testing is one of the fundamental elements of Non-Functional testing and also testing in general. It is the technique that validates if the product is considering the organizational standards or not. So to have a long run with your product, Compliance testing is a must.

Here we discuss the theory in regard to Compliance testing.

What is it?

It is basically the validation or evaluation of your software product with respect to the Regulations and standards that it has to be in boundaries of. An assessment of a sort. An Assessment of whether the product is completing the requirements and specifications that it has to complete. As it confirms the validity of the product, it’s also commonly known as, Conformance testing. As it is a type of non-functional testing, it is quite an auditable test.

Elements

Compliance testing is done for various aspects. As there is a deviation in the defined standards, many elements of the software get affected. Through Compliance testing, those can be assessed.

Check out the list below of those elements.

• Performance
• Functions
• Rigorousness
• Interoperability
• System Behavior

Importance

For performing this test, first we need to understand that why is it important. Our mind should be clear about why do we need it? To answer this question, following points are to be considered.

• Validation of the product about completing all the requirements of the system and the standards.
• Assessment of the documents.
• Authentication of the software design, development, and to again evaluate the product as per the standards, guidelines, specifications and norms.
• To check if the system maintenance is defined as per specified standards and suggest approach.
• Making sure that your product is free from any kind of complaints from regulatory organizations.

Who does it?

Generally, companies do not implement compliance testing. It isn’t considered as compulsory. But the Application of Compliance testing is largely dependent on the company’s management. If the management decides to do the compliance testing, they get a tester from outside or sometimes they just ask the company team to execute it.

Many of the companies also arrange a board of experts in the field to evaluate and authenticate different policies, specifications, regulations and guidelines.

What to test?

The testing is started by the managing board of the company. They first try to completely understand the team considering different regulations, specifications, guidelines, etc.

To make sure the results are best and to assure the quality, all the Standards and guidelines must be clearly stated to the team to avoid any vague steps.

• Scope of requirements
• Call of the software to be developed
• Requirement objectives
• Execution Standards

When to do it?

Whenever one needs to check the comprehensive ability and reliable nature of the software along with assessing how accurate the product is with respect to the requirement specifications.

How to do it?

As stated earlier, the Compliance testing is more like an audit. It does not require any specific method.

It can be done easily like we the other testing processes. Though here is not a specific method to it, we tried to break down the process for you in the following points.

• The initial stage is to get hold of all the precise data regarding all the rules and regulations and other standards and norms.
• Secondly, one needs to document all the collected data in first step properly.
• After that, a clear and precise assessment of all the development phases against the documented standards and norms id required. It should be done to detect and note any deviations or errors in the executed process.
• Next, a report should be made including all the errors to the respective team.
• And finally, a re-verification is required to authenticate the affected areas after the errors have been fixated. It is to make sure the conformance of the standards required.
• This is not a mandatory step but if needed, provision of a certificate can be made for the compliance

To make things easy for you, there are many tools available in the market to execute the compliance testing. You can choose any tool based on your system typ and required standards.

Check them out! After all, anything which saves time and efforts is worth a try. Right?

• MAP2.1 conformance testing tool
• Software Licence Agreement OMS Conformance Tester 4.0
• EtherCAT conformance testing tool
• CANopen Conformance test tool

Advantages

Though Compliance testing is not a compulsory element of the SLTC, but it is recommended to execute it to make sure your software is performing better and overall software compliance.

Still not convinced? Here is a list of some advantages

1. It guarantees proper application of required specifications
2. It authenticates interoperability and portability
3. Authentication of whether the required standards and norms are properly obeyed to.
4. Validation of the workings of the interfaces and functions.
5. Helps in detecting the areas which are yet to be confirmed with those which are not to be confirmed like Semantics and Syntax

Challenges

Yes, Compliance testing does not have a specific methodology. Yes, It can be performed like any other testing. But still, there are challenges. It is not as easy as it seems. But the challenges are not vague. They are known and test the strength of the tester’s abilities.

We have listed some of the challenges for you.

1. Identification of the class of the system and then testing according to the class by going through a suitable methodology. This will promise you the best of results.
2. Specifying specifications into Profiles, Levels, and Modules.
3. Having a complete know-how of different standards, norms and regulations of the system which is to be tested.

Conclusion

In closing, Functional testing of your software product is necessary but it would not be fair to the subscribers of your product if you ignore the Non-functional testing. To have a smooth and uninterrupted experience for a long time, Non-functional testing is as important and Compliance testing assures that the user will be satisfied. So, Test it ASAP!

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