1. Quality Management Implementation Guide
  2. Understanding Specifications

Understanding Specifications

A specification is a group of tests that are always performed at the same time. As you define a specification, you determine which tests to perform at the same time. If you sequence the tests within a specification, the tests appear in the sequenced order in the test results. Specifications can be unique to a single branch/plant or common for all branch/plants.

An example of a specification is a blending specification for a soft drink, which contains tests for caffeine, color shade, and syrup concentration. These individual tests within the specification pass or fail quality testing, not the specification itself.

Note: You cannot customize tests within a specification. Use preferences when you need to customize tests and specifications.

For each specification, you can define:

  • Name.

  • Description.

  • The tests to include in the specification.

After you define specifications, you can review or revise them. You can also print a test specification report.

Note: If you use workflow approval processing, you cannot make changes to records that have a status of pending. Also, any changes that you make do not become effective until they are approved.