Specialist Task Force 417:
Standards Validation Methods

Who we are:

Team Leader: Steve Randall, PQM Consultants, steve.randall@pqmconsultants.com
Team Members: Ina Schieferdecker, Fraunhofer Fokus, schieferdecker@fokus.fraunhofer.de

What we do:

The members of STF417 are preparing an ETSI Guide which describes a number of practical methods which can be used to validate the content of a standard and requirements that it expresses. The methods include a wide range of approaches such as peer reviews, modelling and Plugtests™ events.

For more details, see our Terms of Reference

Why we do it:

A validation guide already exists in EG 201 015 but this is specifically oriented towards protocol standards which use the ITU-T Specification and Design Language (SDL) to specify behaviour. Although this guide is still accurate, there is considerably less use of SDL currently in ETSI Technical Bodies. It is, therefore, necessary to offer a range of validation techniques that can be applied to any standard and which do not consume large quantities of specialist effort and do not depend on complex software tools.

How we do it:

There are only two experts in STF417 and these have been chosen for their particular skills and knowledge of validation techniques. The two experts will be responsible together for producing the validation guide and will be working closely with the Centre for Testing and Interoperability within the ETSI Secretariat and with TC-MTS.

Deliverables:

REG/MTS-00122 "A handbook of validation methods for standards writers"

Time plan:

Start of work March 2011
1st stable draft July 2011
Approval by TC-MTS October 2011

How to contact us:

steve.randall@etsi.org