The certification is designed to guarantee
- That the transactions and files are in accordance with the standard
- There are documents relating to transactions,
- A test site is available and operational.
The certification is done in relation to a master version of XFT (1.1, 1.2 …) and does not take into account minor versions (e.g. 1.1.13). It is possible to certify certain transactions at any given moment. However the association require that a minimum amount is certified at any one time. For example when certifying the implementation of business processes (process maintenance records and online sales …), it is unrealistic to certify just one single transaction.
Once the corresponding XFT is certified, it is qualified as a “Certified XFT”. This is a guarantee of quality from the XFT partners.
An initial pricing table was compiled by the association. The prices that are quoted cover the two phases (The original phase and the phase for validation. The prices for the additional phases of adjustment are also indicated.
How to get certified?
Above all, you must be a member of XFT. Then, you need to apply for certification from the XFT association.
The member that is awaiting certification must provide the list of transactions and files it wishes to become certified business processes, with documents like:
- Background documentation
- Examples of transactions to be certified
- From the address of a site and functional test procedures and IDs
- After the certification process normally takes place in 2 phases.
First phase
The certifying body will at first verify the information and content of transactions and then the consistency between transactions and documentation.
The transaction validation is done at three levels:
- Technical Validity (Schema validation)
- Functional Validity (which is expressed for conformity in functional terms)
- Optimisation and compliance of use (which has already been done by others, should be done in the same way)
Once the transactions and documentations are reviewed, the transactions are actually tested on the test site to verify that what is generated corresponds to transactions of tests and in order to make blind tests.
On completion of these tests, an audit report will be provided; possibly containing a list of corrections and suggestions that will be discussed with the supplier.
Second phase
After corrections are made by the provider, the certifying body will perform the same work as before in order to confirm the accommodation.
At the end of these 2 phases and if the certification is accepted, the association will provide the certified XFT logos (labels) of certification and a press release will be issued with the certified member.
Otherwise, a new report will be submitted and the required adjustments within this second phase can be repeated.
Limits of certification
The purpose of certification is to check the conformity of the messages compared to XFT diagram/schema and to check that the supplier offers sufficient information in order to easily implement the messages. Certification is not a guarantee in regard to the contents entered in the transactions. It is the responsibility of the supplier to check that the content is valid for the trade directions. In addition, certification does not ensure that the message uses the XFT in an optimal way or for conformity with other suppliers (let us not forget that the XFT is only one language and not a standard). So several structures circulate and are certified for the same transactions. They are all valid but inevitably are not the simplest or most practical. The choice of the format remains the prerogative of the supplier, while the association only ensures its conformity to the language and the transaction compared to the delivered documents.
Another limit of certification lies now in the fact that the certified suppliers inevitably do not submit modifications to the association for Re-certification (and currently we do not really have a financial framework for that). It would probably be necessary to carry out a review on this subject and to investigate the implications in budgetary terms.
Lastly, certification is a heavy operation and is only carried out once there is an operational system; there is another service in existence that corresponds to the supply of support and validation, which ensures the realization of installations or validates pieces of transactions. We do not currently know how to cover the assistance of this completed design however we can accompany XFT members by ad hoc specific services.
