A Product Standard is a precisely defined and documented set of functionality to which products can be certified. It provides a mapping between certification, the specifications, and the test suites needed to demonstrate conformance.
Each Product Standard describes its purpose, gives detailed technical conformance requirements, and identifies specific testing requirements that must be satisfactorily completed. Where appropriate it may also highlight important information that has to be included in the Conformance Statement.
Most of the detailed requirements for conformance to Product Standards are usually identified by reference to other documents rather than being defined in the Product Standard itself. All such references are precisely stated such that the referenced documents are clearly and uniquely identified (title, version number, date, and so on). Conformance is to a specific version of an identified document and a Product Standard is not automatically updated when a newer version of the document (specification or standard) is released. Where conformance is only to specific parts of a document, the relevant parts are clearly identified. The relationship between the various documents is shown.