Understanding how the tests on products have been conducted will help clarify what assurances can be derived from knowing that a product has been termed “MultiSpeak compliant” or “Interoperable”.

Products submitted for testing to MultiSpeak Version 3 or Version 4 are tested for interoperability. In interoperability testing, two products (typically from different vendors) are submitted for a joint test. The vendors develop an assertions document that states the joint MultiSpeak functionality that they wish to claim and how those capabilities may be used to support utility business processes. An independent testing agency then verifies that the two products integrate in the manners described and that the integration is achieved using MultiSpeak. The verified assertions document is then posted on this web site for download by interested parties. The verified assertions documents are also available either from the vendors participating in the test or directly from the MultiSpeak Project Technical Coordinator. These documents are used as a way to see, in detail, exactly what MultiSpeak-compatible integration is included in vendor product interfaces. See discussion on assertions documents.  

Interoperability tests are usually between applications from two different vendors. However, a single vendor may test against a test “harness” in lieu of a second vendor’s offering. The testing harness acts as a universal client or server, providing the necessary partner for the software under test. This particularly used when the second application is not readily available for testing against.