Document Introduction and Style

This policy document is presented so that the reader can gain as much information they need or want to in regards to the HIMSA certification program.  There are more links to additional information depending on the type of product being integrated with a HIMSA product.

This document does not require technical experience.  This document is written with the assumption that the reader will fall into one of the following categories:

• Software Business Manager

• Project Manager / Team Leader

• Quality Assurance department employee

• Software Developer

Covered Products

The certification program covers both software and hardware – The general term “Solution” will be used in the rest of the documents.  The following HIMSA products are included:

• Noah

o    The certification process also covers hardware which is commonly used between many different manufacturers

• Noahlink Wireless and NOAHlink

• HIPRO (not a HIMSA product but included in testing)

• Noah 4 Mobile API

• Noah ES API

Certification can only be granted or maintained when related to a HIMSA supported version for a given solution. 

Goals of the Certification Program

The most important goal of the certification program is that obtaining certification represents a quality testing program.  It is very important that hearing care professionals, member companies, and HIMSA can feel that the certification program is reliable. The certification program will be continually monitored and updated to meet the ever-changing software and hardware environments.  Changes will be made to address new issues and provide the most efficient test procedures possible. 

The following is a list of goals for the certification program.  These goals provide details as to how the polices are formed.  Each item provides more details as to the goal:

• 1.01 – Hearing Care Industry is in control

• 1.02 – Prevent inter solution -company problems

• 1.03 – Member companies want to avoid critical problems

• 1.04 – HCP’s expect conflict-free solutions

• 1.05 – HIMSA expects conflict-free solutions

• 1.06 – Certification with little or no outside company involvement

• 1.08 – Quickly Determine Certification Status

• 1.09 – Data Integrity and Usability

• 1.10 – HCP’s expect their data is secure

• 1.11 – Easy access to other certified solutions

• 1.12 – Certification cannot be revoked

• 1.13 – HIMSA is neutral

• 1.14 – Promote common interactions 

Critical Issues

A major goal is to avoid critical issues from happening to Hearing Care Professionals (HCP’s).  In order for an issue to be considered critical two main conditions must be met:

1. The error must be consistently repeatable.  HIMSA must be able to reproduce the error more than one time.  HIMSA will routinely attempt to reproduce the problem on more than one system in order to rule out test system malfunctions.

2. The error must be reproduced using the software in a reasonable an intended manner.  HIMSA acknowledges that almost any software package will crash if enough attempts and stress are applied.  HIMSA will always test in a reasonable manner.  This is accomplished by using the software as a typical end user would.

The following high level issues are considered critical for HIMSA certification:

• 2.01 - Causes Noah or a certified NOAH-compatible product to be terminated unexpectedly

• 2.02 - Fails to Release System Resources

• 2.03 - Changes configuration or initialization files in a way that interferes with the operation of NOAH or a certified NOAH-compatible product

• 2.04 - Causes Corruption or gives the HCP the impression of data corruption

• 2.05 - Saves Noah actions to the Noah database without populating agreed upon public data format

Additionally, each type of Noah integration may specify special certification issues.  Please see the conformance test document for the integration product you are working on for further details.  In these cases the topic will be clearly documented in a “Special Certification Issues” section.

Public Listing and Inter Member Company Access to other Company Certified Software

There are different policies that cover the public listing of a certified product and how other member companies may have access to other company certified products.  Generally, the policies are as follows:  

• Public listing / if a product is certified by HIMSA then HIMSA must have a way to publicly list what versions of products have been certified.

• Inter member company access / certified products must be available for other member companies so that they can have the opportunity use they products for testing and troubleshooting purposes.

For more details see Public Listing and Commercial Availability

Procedures

The text in this section applies to all products being certified.

HIMSA Test Sites and Administration

HIMSA has two offices that perform testing and administration for certification, Copenhagen Denmark and St. Paul, U.S. Solutions developed in North or South America are handled via the St. Paul office, all other countries are handled by the Copenhagen office.

Q: If my software is developed in Europe and the Copenhagen test site is booked for my desired test date is it possible for the U.S. office test site to perform the integration test?

A: No, HIMSA has attempted this arrangement in the past with no success.  In the event that HIMSA has a question or problem the time difference eventually causes the test to drag out too long.  In these cases both HIMSA and the member company found it to be an undesirable situation. 

Miscellaneous

• The licensee is invited but not required to attend the integration testing at HIMSA.

• The licensee will receive up to 16 hours of integration testing per calendar year at no charge.  HIMSA will assess a fee for additional testing.  The fee will be calculated as an hourly rate that reflects HIMSA’s costs for such testing.   

Reporting Results  

• If HIMSA testing is required HIMSA will report to the licensee the results within one week of the licensee’s submittal, barring exceptional circumstances.

• In either case, pass or fail, the integration test report may include findings that fall outside the scope of certification testing but have a potential impact on the stability or ease of use of the product. 

• If the test fails the report details will be treated as confidential material.

• If the test passes:

  o    For Noah 3 and 4 API modules and full business systems, the details of the test results will not be posted publicly.

  o    For Noah Mobile API applications and WSI based business systems test details will be posted publicly as documented in the respective test procedures.

• The test report will be distributed only to the licensee that submits the software product for testing and will be treated by HIMSA as confidential material.

• If the software product passes integration testing, HIMSA will grant the licensee the right to label the software product with HIMSA’s certification seal.  

What if HIMSA finds a critical issue during testing?

If HIMSA discovers a critical issue with the software in for testing and it is determined that the issue lies within that package the software will not be able to be certified.  When a critical problem appears as a conflict between two or more products, HIMSA will determine which product is the source of the problem.  To assist with this determination, HIMSA may require the participation of the licensees involved to isolate and diagnose the problem.

A HIMSA Member company does not agree with a HIMSA decision

In the unlikely event that a member company does not agree with a HIMSA decision (e.g. determination of fault or interpretation of a problem), the member company can, as a next step, make an appeal to the HIMSA Certification Test Review Board.  The Test Review Board will review the issue and render a decision based on viewpoints from HIMSA and the member company in question.  Currently, the Test Review Board will consist of HIMSA Management Group members or employees they wish to appoint.  The Management Group member consists of individuals for each of the 5 HIMSA partner companies.

Since spring 2006, no appeals have ever been made.  HIMSA strives to be very fair.  HIMSA only wishes to have a clearly know “next step” in the event of a dispute.

The other points apply to the test review board:

• The Member Company must appeal HIMSA’s test results within 10 business days after receipt of the integration test report.

• The Test Review Board will most likely meet via teleconference or email depending on the complexity of the issue.

• The Test Review Board is required to render its decision within 10 business days of HIMSA receiving the appeal.

More Details per API Integration

The above text has discussed points that apply to all products integrating with Noah.  Each different API offered by HIMSA has additional special policies.  Please follow the links below for more details.

• Noah compatible modules, software utilizing the Noah 3 or 4 based API

• Noah Mobile API based software

• Noah compatible business system using the full business system API

• Noah compatible business systems using the WSI API

More details

The text in this section applies to all products being certified

Scheduling

The licensee should notify HIMSA three weeks in advance of submitting a software product for integration testing by email or phone(email is preferred).  HIMSA will then notify the licensee in writing of a confirmed test date.  If a specific test time is requested but cannot be fulfilled HIMSA will return with new opportunities and confirm via email when accepted by the licensee.

Pretest

A member company is able to ask HIMSA to perform an unofficial test if it just wished to gain feedback.  Pretests do require that the member company required test steps be first completed before HIMSA will conduct testing.

Double Booking

Many licensees would love to be able to schedule a test and then reserve a backup date just in case an unexpected delay occurs.  It would be nice if HIMSA was able to offer this type of service but our testing resources cannot accommodate for this. Keeping this in mind HIMSA will use the following policy in regards to booking multiple tests.

• Licensees may book one-time slot per software product per 30 day time period

• Occasionally a licensee may wish to book a “pre-test”.  A pre-test would consist of HIMSA going through the normal integration test with the understanding that the licensee wishes to see how the module will fare in an “official” test.  Booking a pre-test with HIMSA is acceptable.  However, HIMSA will require that both scheduled time slots are used.  If one of the time slots is not used then HIMSA will charge for an 8-hour test.

Q: What is the difference between a pre-test and double booking?  A company could just as easily double book and tell HIMSA that it is a pre-test.

A: Yes, this could be the case.  HIMSA hopes that member companies will not abuse this policy.  If HIMSA starts to see a pattern where companies are double booking under the guise of pre-tests then HIMSA will be forced to make a stronger policy.  HIMSA really does not wish to come to this point and hopes that all companies will act on good faith.

Cancellation

If the licensee has arranged for a certification testing appointment, but for various reasons cannot meet the agreed appointment, the licensee must inform HIMSA no later than 5 p.m. 2 business days before the test.  If this notice is not received HIMSA will charge for 8 hours of testing.

Certification Seal and Copyright

Certification Seal

HIMSA will make the certification seal available to licensees in an electronic format.  The licensee may display the seal only in a manner that refers to the specific release number that underwent testing.  For that specific release number, the licensee may display the seal on any language version.  Please see “How to use the Tested and Certified for NOAHSEAL” for additional details.

Violation of Seal or HIMSA Copyright

If a licensee releases a product without undergoing certification testing and labels the product with HIMSA’s certification seal in violation of HIMSA’s copyright, or otherwise misleads customers, HIMSA will take whatever actions are deemed appropriate to inform its customer base and/or pursue legal remedies.

Validity of Submitted Test Materials

If HIMSA determines that the certification testing materials submitted by a licensee contain false or misleading information, HIMSA may take whatever actions are deemed appropriate to ensure full testing of the licensee’s product(s) and/or pursue legal remedies.

System Locale/Language Support

HIMSA’s integration test sites are installed on the en-US versions of operating systems (e.g. Windows).  The software must be able to be installed on this operating system setup.  HIMSA prefers that the module is able to run in English text but this is not mandatory. Support for English will enable HIMSA to perform any testing and administration work faster reducing your companies included hours for certification.