Conformity
Conformity records evidence review for software assurance teams
This review confirms that the articles your tests were run on were the articles the conformity records say they were. A certification engineer reads the conformity documentation for each test article and installation, checking part identity, configuration, and test eligibility against the controlled build the certification data cites. Assurance teams use it before submittal, in a finding response, or before a design change re-uses an earlier conformity. You receive a gap list of articles that do not tie to a controlled configuration, an evidence map, and a closure sequence.
When this review is needed
- Test evidence is going into a submittal and the conformity behind each article has never been read as a set.
- The authority asked whether a test result rests on a conformed article at the right configuration.
- An earlier conformity is being reused for a new test and its eligibility has to be reconfirmed.
- A test article was modified between conformity and test and the records may not reflect the change.
The problem
A test result is only worth the conformity behind the article it ran on. Conformity is captured at a moment in time, then the article often gets tweaked, re-worked, or re-purposed before or between tests, and the paperwork does not always keep up. When a test is cited months later, the link between the result and a conformed, correctly configured article can be thinner than the data package assumes, and that is precisely where an authority looks.
What gets reviewed
- Article identity and part and serial numbers on each conformity record
- The configuration of each article at the moment of conformity
- Test eligibility of the conformed article for the test it supported
- Changes to the article between conformity and test, and whether they were captured
- The link from each test result to the article and conformity it depends on
- Reused conformities and whether their eligibility still holds for the new use
What gets validated
- Each test result cites an article with a conformity record at the configuration tested
- Part and serial identity on the conformity matches the article the test report describes
- Article changes between conformity and test are documented and their effect on eligibility assessed
- Reused conformity is still eligible for the test it is being applied to
- No test rests on an article whose configuration the records cannot pin down
Evidence normally required
- Conformity records and inspection documentation per article
- Test reports citing the articles under test
- The configuration data defining each article at conformity
- Change or rework history for the test articles
- The controlled build definition the certification data references
Common discrepancies
- A test report citing an article whose conformity was captured at a different configuration
- An article reworked after conformity with no record of the change or its eligibility impact
- A reused conformity applied to a test it is not actually eligible for
- Part or serial identity that does not reconcile between the conformity and the test report
What is at stake
A test result that cannot be tied to a conformed article at the right configuration is not usable evidence, no matter how clean the test itself was. Rediscovering that late can force a retest on a conformed article, which is among the most expensive kinds of rework because it consumes lab time, hardware, and schedule all at once.
Move from findings to resolution
Identify gaps against the means of compliance.
How the work runs
Pin each article
Confirm part and serial identity and configuration on every conformity record.
Link results to articles
Trace each test result to the conformed article and configuration it depends on.
Check the interval
Examine changes between conformity and test, and whether reused conformity is still eligible.
Flag the exposures
List results that cannot be tied to a conformed article and sequence the reconciliation or retest.
What the buyer receives
- A gap list of test articles that do not tie to a controlled, conformed configuration
- An evidence map linking each test result to the article and conformity behind it
- A closure sequence flagging which results need reconciliation or retest
Who uses the output
- Assurance leads confirming the test evidence rests on conformed articles
- Certification leadership answering a finding on article conformity or configuration
- Engineering leads deciding whether a result can stand or an article must be retested
How the work fits into the transaction or program
Conformity is what lets a test result count toward compliance, so it sits between the lab and the compliance claim. Reading it before submittal keeps a test everyone considered done from failing at review because the article behind it cannot be pinned to a controlled configuration.
Start with a single asset
Confirm requirements trace through verification.
Jurisdiction-specific considerations
FAA conformity and the EASA equivalent both require that test articles be established as representative of the design, but they route the inspection authority and the associated forms differently, and a conformity accepted under one system is not automatically portable to the other. The review notes where an article's conformity would need re-establishing for a second authority.
Regulatory limits
This review reads conformity records for consistency and eligibility. It does not perform a conformity inspection, establish conformity, or make a compliance finding. Those acts rest with the authority and its designees.
What this review does not cover
- Performing a conformity inspection or establishing conformity on an article
- Re-running any test cited in the records
- Any compliance finding based on the conformity evidence
Specific to this review
- A test result is only as strong as the conformity behind its article, so a clean test on an unpinned article is worth nothing at review.
- Rework between conformity and test is the most common way an article drifts out of its conformed configuration without the records catching it.
- Reused conformity is a frequent trap, because eligibility for the original test does not guarantee eligibility for the one it is being applied to.
Sources
U.S. Government (eCFR). Type certificates, STCs (Subpart E), TSO authorizations (Subpart O), PMA (Subpart K), and export airworthiness approvals (Subpart L).
Federal Aviation Administration. FAA type certification process, certification basis establishment, and compliance findings.
European Union / EASA. EASA design and production certification, STCs, ETSO authorizations, and EASA Form 1 release.
Frequently asked questions
Can you establish conformity for an article that lacks a record?
No. Establishing conformity is an authority function performed by designated inspectors. Our review finds where a test result lacks a conformity link or where the article drifted from its conformed configuration, so you can arrange the right inspection or retest before submittal.
Relevant glossary terms
Related pages
Where this fits
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