General
Technical Conformance
To be certified, a product MUST pass technical conformance testing demonstrating that the product implements a targeted set of Ed-Fi standards.
Product Updates and Editions
If a product is updated (i.e., a new release is published or made available), patched, or otherwise altered, there is no requirement that the product be re-certified to maintain its certification. However, partners agree as part of certification that if conformance problems are found in later versions of a certified product, those issues will be expeditiously addressed or the product could lose its certified status. Some products in the market have multiple editions (e.g., configurable modules) available. Certification will be performed against a single product edition, and that product edition MUST be available to customers in the K–12 market.
Correspondingly, certification test suites cannot be satisfied through a combination of functionality across product editions. Edition information will be captured and published by the Ed-Fi Alliance as part of the certification registry record. Functionality covered in product certification tests MUST employ real-world, end-user-facing, core product functionality. Special-purpose features or processes that are specific to satisfying certification testing MUST NOT be used.
Product Updates and Expediency
Problems might be encountered during certification preparation and testing. It is permitted for vendors to make product updates and re-attempt tests during the process. However, all tests process MUST conclude within 20 working days of the time the certification starts, and there MUST be at least one meeting each week (Alliance scheduling permitting) showing progress towards completion. This is designed to allow some flexibility in addressing issues found during certification, but also to encourage product readiness prior to starting the process. At its discretion, the Alliance may extend the certification process period, but will only do so if progress is being made.
Maintaining Certified Product Functionality
If field issues are reported with a certified product's implementation that suggest certification requirements are no longer being met by the product, the Ed-Fi Alliance can ask a vendor to re-certify a product to maintain its certification. This can be done if the Alliance receives clear field evidence that a product is not conforming to the applicable Ed-Fi specifications or guidelines. Recertification can also be requested if the Alliance finds a serious error or omission in its test suite.
Changes to Certification
The Ed-Fi Alliance may at any time change the certification tests to improve them. Such a change does not require recertification of currently certified products, but it does mean that a system that previously passed a certification might not pass the next version of that same certification.
Transferability
If a product is re-named or re-branded, an existing certification is transferable to the new product as long as the owning or governing organization of the product has not changed and the code base and other product internals are unchanged (normal product updates that would occur regardless of the naming or branding change are excepted).
However, an existing certification MUST NOT be applied to two separately named or branded products.
Disputes
The Ed-Fi Alliance will refer disputes about product certification to the Ed-Fi Governance Advisory Team.