This recommended practice is intended for qualification of technologies that are not covered by existing, validated requirements, and where failure poses risk to life, property or the environment, or presents financial risk.

Guidance note:

Even though individual components in a system might be qualified or proven, if they are assembled in a different way, the system as a whole may require to be qualified. The same applies to qualified or proven technology in a changed environment.

A process for qualification of computer software is outlined in App.D.

This recommended practice can be useful for the qualification of technologies where the best way to show compliance to existing requirements or standards is not obvious.

Technology qualification is normally preceded by a concept development stage and an evaluation stage, in which the main principles for its evaluation are determined. These principles should be fed into the technology qualification process via the technology qualification basis (Sec.6).