Definition

A certification kit is a set of test cases used in a certification process. In the cited microprocessor-certification context, vendors may provide customers with necessary test programs, and such a set of test cases is called a certification kit. [C1]

Role in certification

Certification kits are used where certification bodies require test sets that check whether an implementation conforms to an underlying model. For example, in the VAMP processor case study, generated test cases are intended to check whether given hardware conforms to the VAMP processor model. [C2]

The evidence specifically identifies relevance to higher levels of certification processes such as Common Criteria EAL 7, and notes that even when deductive verification covers transitions from C programs to processor models, certification bodies may still require test sets for checking processor-model conformance against real hardware. [C3]

Development approaches

Certification kits are usually developed manually in the described domain, and selling manually developed certification kits is described as a profitable business, including for avionics certifications according to DO-178 and DO-245. [C4]

The cited case study contrasts manual development with a model-based approach: the authors present model-based generation of test programs as the basis for a certification kit. Their approach reuses a design model already used for verification, generating test sequences from the VAMP model using HOL-TestGen. [C5]

Relationship to model-based test case generation

Model-based test case generation can provide the test programs or test sequences that form the basis of a certification kit. In the cited case study, model-based generation is applied to a realistic RISC processor model to produce tests for conformance checking. [C5]