Concept · dictionary entry

Conformance Test

An externally observable test that establishes whether a system satisfies a stated property.

Definition

A conformance test is a procedure whose inputs, expected outputs and pass criterion are stated in advance and whose execution requires no access to the internals of the system under test. Conformance tests are the reproducibility substrate for machine entity comprehension.

Formal reference

Machine Entity Comprehension: A Black-Box Conformance Framework for Identity, Context and Change — §4

Related concepts

• black box observation
• identity preservation

Demonstrations

• Chamber scenario scenario-1
• Chamber scenario scenario-2

Limitations

• Passing a conformance test proves conformance to that test, not general capability
• The test itself must be inspectable for the result to be meaningful