Re: Question regarding NIST Certification

I don't work directly for NIST, but I have worked with them for many  
years.

I know that NIST provides certification for the accuracy of  
measurement equipment - like sound pressure level meters, scales,  
pressure gauges, clocks, etc.  They provide three types: a certificate  
of calibration, a certificate of compliance, and a traceable  
certificate.  They also provide certification against the Federal  
Information Processing Standards (FIPS) to cover things like how data  
is encoded, encryption standards, and personal identity verification  
standards.   But none of this is directed at the product's usability.   
My firm is developing a usability-related certification for voting  
systems, but its the only usability related standard at NIST that I  
know of.

Are you sure you're not thinking of the CIF (Common Industry Format)  
for reporting usability results?  This is a usability-related standard  
developed by NIST, but not a type of certification.

Here's a link to the NIST Center for Standards and Certification  
Information if that helps any...

http://ts.nist.gov/Standards/Information/index.cfm

Bill
---------------------------------------------------
Bill Killam, MA CHFP
President, User-Centered Design, Inc.
20548 Deerwatch Place
Ashburn, VA 20147
703-729-0998 (Office)
703-626-6318 (Mobile)
http://www.user-centereddesign.com




On May 13, 2009, at 12:33 PM, Muthyala, Sumanth wrote:

> Hello All,
>
> As a part of the Usability group at my company we were tasked into
> achieving NIST certification for our Products.
> I would like to understand the following:
> 1)	Has anyone else in the community looked into this certification?
> 2)	If you have, what are the different types of certifications
> a.	Definition of certification levels
> 3)	Example of types of software at each level and their function
> 4)	Cost pertaining to each level
>
> I would appreciate any help/advice on this.
> Sincerely,
>
> Sumanth Muthyala
> Compuware Usability
> 313 227 4196
> The contents of this e-mail are intended for the named addressee  
> only. It contains information that may be confidential. Unless you  
> are the named addressee or an authorized designee, you may not copy  
> or use it, or disclose it to anyone else. If you received it in  
> error please notify us immediately and then destroy it.
>
>    --------------------------------------------------------------
>    Tip of the Day: Suspend your subscription if using auto replies
>     CHI-WEB: www.sigchi.org/web POSTINGS: mailto:[email protected]
>              MODERATORS: mailto:[email protected]
>       SUBSCRIPTION CHANGES & FAQ:  www.sigchi.org/web/faq.html
>    --------------------------------------------------------------
>

    --------------------------------------------------------------
        Tip of the Day: Forward out-of-office replies to
                    mailto:[email protected]
     CHI-WEB: www.sigchi.org/web POSTINGS: mailto:[email protected]
              MODERATORS: mailto:[email protected]
       SUBSCRIPTION CHANGES & FAQ:  www.sigchi.org/web/faq.html
    --------------------------------------------------------------