PCATS Conformance Test FAQ

Phase 1, the only approved phase at this time, is designed to test the conformance of PCATS POS Back Office Interface Standards Version 3.3 xml instance documents produced by either Point-of-Sale or Back Office systems to the approved schemas for version 3.3.

Phase 2, which may or may not be approved for implementation, will test interoperability of both producing and consuming applications. The earliest time anticipated for Phase 2 is 2006. Phase 2, if approved, will require a significant financial and resource investment by PCATS.

Is the PCATS Conformance Test Program limited to POS Back Office standards?

No. The Certification Committee recognized the need for certification programs for other PCATS standards in addition to POS Back Office, but elected to begin the process with POS Back Office. The goal is to have a certification program for each of the major PCATS standards.

What is the purpose of the PCATS Conformance Testing Program?

The purpose of the initial program is two fold:

First, it is to create a level of confidence for retailers purchasing either Point-of-Sale or Back Office Accounting systems claiming to support, comply with, or conform to PCATS-NAXML standards that the system is capable of producing xml instance documents that conform to the use cases as defined by PCATS.

Second, it is to give providers of either or both Point-of-Sale and Back Office Accounting systems assurance that their systems are capable of producing xml instance documents that conform to the use cases as defined by PCATS and that they may be confident that only vendors who have earned the PCATS Certified logo may claim to support, comply with, or conform to PCATS-NAXML version standards.

Does the PCATS Certified logo indicate to retailers that two systems that have earned the logo can interoperate?

The PCATS Certified logo will be marketed so as to avoid confusion in the marketplace regarding interoperability. There is no guarantee explicit or implicit that two systems that have earned the PCATS Certified logo will interoperate. The logo only indicates that a certified application is able to produce instance documents that conform to those PCATS POS Back Office Interface Standards for which the vendor sought certification. For an example of how HR-XML displays certification information go to:

http://www.hrcertify.org/conformance/certifications.aspx

What are the benefits for a vendor who decides to certify his/her software or service?

Vendors that successfully certify solutions are awarded the PCATS Certified logo and an entry in the PCATS Certified registry.Being awarded the PCATS Certified logo signals that the vendor organization has implemented the PCATS vocabulary in at least one generally accepted way. Having an entry in the searchable registry

maintained by PCATS enables your solution to be discovered by customers and partners looking for applications that integrate more easily via PCATS standards. However, we expect that trading partners would enjoy the benefit of faster and less expensive interface building if both POS and Back Office systems have been certified as conforming to the standard.

Going through the certification process will also provide a provider’s development team an opportunity to validate its work and their understanding of PCATS standards.

A growing number of customers are asking prospective suppliers of POS and BO systems about their ability to support PCATS standards.

Does the Conformance Testing Tool test both producing and consuming applications?

The PCTP in Phase 1 will only test the producing applications adherence to the standard schema in its xml instance document.

How does the program test xml instance documents?

The POS Back Office Working Group has developed a set of use cases that have been grouped by schema and purpose. The use cases have been further divided into those that are considered mandatory in order to pass the conformance test and those that are optional.

The conformance testing tool develops a restricted schema based on each use case. These restricted schemas turn optional elements in the larger schema into mandatory elements in the restricted schema based on the elements required by the use case.

Are the Use Cases documented?

The use cases will be fully documented and will be available to any PCATS member desiring to test their application for conformance. Non-members of PCATS will need to purchase the documentation of the use cases.

How many tests will a vendor have to perform in order to be certified?

Certification will be at the application level. For example, a back office system vendor may only choose to certify on the “fuel grade maintenance” documents. The certification matrix hosted on the PCATS website will show only those applications that have been certified. The matrix will show which use cases have been certified.

Will the certification matrix show failed test results?

The certification matrix will show only those applications that the vendor has certified. Failures will not be reported nor will fail attempts.

The objective of the program is to have as many vendors as possible pass the various tests and obtain certification. This will insure that implementation of the standard takes place to the benefit of all in the industry.

Does the Conformance Testing Program test the validity of the data contained in the instance document?

The PCTP only checks the validity of the data with regard to the datatype specified in the schema. For example, the proper format for a date is 2004-06-01 (yyyy-mm-dd). The tool will insure that the data is presented in accordance with the datatype. It will not check to determine if the date is valid or makes sense in context.

What is the maturity level of the PCTP tool?

The PCTP tool has been developed by NRF-ARTS and will be licensed by NRF to PCATS. NRF-ARTS considers the tool to be beyond beta and in full production with their schemas and use cases. At least two vendors (IBM and 360 Commerce) have already contracted with NRF use the tool to test the conformance of their instance documents against the NRF-ARTS schemas. The developers of the NRF tool will be under contract to complete and maintain the PCATS version.

Microsoft and ARTS announced at Retail Systems that ARTS has been chosen by Microsoft Corp. to help develop the standards for the .NET Connected for Smarter Retailing logo program. Software vendors may receive the .NET Connected for Smarter Retailing logo if they have an application built on the Microsoft .NET Framework that also either exposes or consumes a Web service and has also passed the ARTS IXRetail standard XML schemas conformance test for interfacing applications within the retail enterprise. This is the same conformance testing tool that PCATS will be licensing from NRF-ARTS.

Once certified does an application need to be recertified?

It is expected that the certificate of conformance will have an expiration date attached to it and that recertification may be necessary. Recertification may consist of resubmission of the use case instance documents or a letter from the vendor stating that no change has been made to the application since certification was obtained.

Is Version 3.4 of the POS Back Office Interface Standard the appropriate version for certification testing?

Version 3.4 and its predecessor 3.3 have been or are being employed on a world-wide basis by a number of retailers and solution providers. This fact alone makes a compelling case for certifying against this version to avoid further confusion in the marketplace and remove the undocumented claims of support for, compliance with, or conformance to PCATS-NAXML standards.

Delaying this process until version 4.0 will only add to uncertainty that retailers experience today when seeking assurance of conformance to the standards.

Is this program designed to be a revenue generator for PCATS?

The fees to be paid by those wishing to have an application certified are based on the value of such certification not only in terms of the avoidance of development costs but also in the credibility value in the marketplace that certification will bring to the vendors who are certified.

The long-term financial viability of PCATS is dependent upon generating sufficient revenues to meet its operating expenses and carry on the work it was created to accomplish. This can only be achieved through programs such as the Conformance Testing Program. As a non-profit organization, the Board of Directors will have the final say in how revenue is generated and programs are funded.

Will all members benefit from this program?

No. This program is one of many programs that PCATS has or will have in operation to meet the needs of the various constituencies that make-up the PCATS membership base.

How is an “application” defined?

In the case of POS Back Office Integration an application is defined as either a Point-Of-Sale application or a Back Office System. Some vendors may have one base POS or BOS application but customer specific versions of that base application. For the purposes of certification fees these are considered to be one POS or BOS application with several variations. One fee is charged - a separate fee is not charged for each variation.

In the case of a POS or BOS supplier that has multiple platforms they may certify all their POS or BOS platforms under one usage fee as opposed to separate fees for each platform.

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