Conformance assessment

Definition
conformance assessment is

"[t]he process through which the relation between a specification and a real implementation is determined. Conformance assessment is the determination of the relationships either by testing (conformance) or by specification checking (compliance, refinement verification, consistency checking and internal consistency checking)."

Overview
"Conformance of a real implementation is not always assessed against the "lowest level" (i.e. implementation) specification in a [product]]'s development process. It is possible for a "higher level" specification to be used (for example, the one whose refinement resulted in the implementation specification)."