The ETSI Approach
Validation of standards
Validation is a means of ensuring that the
requirements in a standard specify what they are supposed to specify.
Even the simplest of validation activities can
improve the quality of a draft standard but a well-planned and systematic
validation process will identify many technical and editorial inaccuracies,
inconsistencies and ambiguities that might otherwise have remained in the
published document.
Indeed a regular process is therefore important
for maximizing the quality of the standard as well as providing valuable
feedback into on-going standards-making activities.
EG 201 015
details various validation techniques. These techniques are not all suited to
the full range of subjects standardized by ETSI but there are few, if any,
standards that cannot be validated at all.
Validation can be explicit, such as peer review or interoperability events, or implicit,
such as the preparation of a requirements catalogue, the development of test specifications and the implementation of the
standard in a product; in other words, any activity which requires close
scrutiny of the requirements specified in the standard.
Interoperability events
The use of interoperability events (or Plugtests) is a well-proven and cost-effective approach to
achieve interoperable standards – and subsequently interoperable products.
During these events, companies are able to interconnect prototype or production implementations of standards in order to
test interoperability and possibly also conformance.
The events offer validation of both the base standard and the implementations, thus benefitting both ETSI Technical Bodies
and the implementers participating in the event.
See on how to plan and organise a Plugtest for your standard.