Current rules for online activities (status as of March 26th, 2021)

The current pandemic situation does still not allow to perform all SPICE related activities onsite. intacs™ and VDA QMC already accepted to perform assessments and trainings completely online for a limited time. But not all activities ensure the same high-quality expectations of intacs™. Therefore, the current rules apply and are allowed until December 31^st, 2021:

For the following training courses, the online execution (including online exams) is allowed:

• intacs™ certified Provisional Assessor
• intacs™ certified Competent Assessor *)
• intacs™ Introduction to VDA Automotive SPICE® Guidelines

For the following observations, the online execution is allowed:

• Competent Course Participant Observation
• Competent Assessor Candidate Observation (during an assessment) **)
• Instructor Observation ***)

For assessments, the online execution is allowed:

• The VDA Automotive SPICE Guideline specifies in chapter 8.3.1: "It is not appropriate to perform interviews for data collection only using phone and/or video conferences."
  Due to the current COVID-19 related restrictions to meet in person, the forenamed requirement is suspended until June 30^th, 2021.
  The VDA QMC project group thereby likes to foster the performance of assessments during the pandemic.
• intacs recommends following the Guideline for Remote Process Assessments.

*) For the “intacs™ certified Competent Assessor” training, there are mandatory rules:

• This training must be conducted via video conference, so the trainer is able to observe the participants.
• A tool must be used to allow working groups in separate sessions, between which the trainer can switch anytime.

**) For the “Competent Assessor Candidate Observation (during an assessment)”, there are mandatory rules:

• The observation must be conducted via video conference, so the observer is able to observe the behavior of the candidate as well as the reaction of the interviewees.

***) For the “Instructor Observation”, there are mandatory rules:

• This training must be conducted via video conference, so the observer is able to observe the Instructor candidate as well as the participants all the time.
• A new Observation sheet must be filled-in by the Observer to document and maintain all necessary steps and results.

intacs™ is continuously working on updated procedures with additional requirements to ensure the quality of onsite and online activities also in the future. This also includes the criteria for observers who have an important responsibility.

HW Engineering PRM/PAM v2.0 released

As announced, the intacs working group "HW Engineering PRM/PAM" has completed the work for the release 2.0. Several improvements have been made, e.g.

• Further Notes and guidance for using the PAM in all processes for semiconductor development. In this context, e.g. traceability is now also allowed (however not required) to be established between HW requirements an individual HW part such as a single transistor.
• Several Rationales were enhanced (e.g. Rationale 5 ‚"Understanding of functional and non-functional requirements")
• Given Notes and some process outcomes and base practices, respectively, have been improved (e.g. HWE.1 HW Requirement Analysis now also reflects general "stakeholder requirements")

Further details you will find in revision history in Annex E of  the document: intacs HW Engineering PRM/PAM v2.0

Plan for 2021:

The work of the group has not ended with release v2.0. In 2021, the group will, in alignment with the intacs working groups "training course strategy" and "standard course materials", develop materials for HW PAM courses. Further, potentials for getting assessments according to the HW PAM accepted as Experience Evidence will be evaluated. Furthermore, the progress of ISO/SAE 21434 on Cybersecurity will be observed to see whether the HW PRM/PAM need to address these topics in Base Practices or Notes.

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intacs SPICE for Mechanical Engineering V1.7 released

We present the new version of intacs SPICE for Mechanical Engineering.

Please let us know your feedback.

New intacs SPICE for Mechanical Engineering Release 1.7

and: with Annotations

Grace Period for Assessor Certification

If an assessor is not able to collect all necessary Experience Evidence due to cancelled assessments or events because of the pandemic time period, the Certification Bodies will grant up to 6 additional months for collecting and providing the missing EEs.

But the additional time does not mean that the certification period will be extended! E.g. if the current period is from January 2018 to December 2020, and you use the first 6 months of 2021 to collect missing EEs, the new period will still be from January 2021 to December 2023.

And another procedure rule still applies: Already used EEs cannot be used twice! E.g. if you collect EEs within the first 6 months of 2021 in order to use them for the certification period from 2021 to 2023, you cannot use these EEs for the next certification period even if they are within the 36 months’ time frame.

Guideline for Remote Process Assessments

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are receiving several questions regarding the possibility of performing remote assessments. Is this permissible, recommended, or not?

Please find out our answer and a few recommendations in our brief Guideline for Remote Process Assessments.