Qualifying an End Product/Subsystem vs. a Component (Tested) – Bluetooth SIG Inc

When qualifying a Bluetooth^® design that will be used by other members in their products, the product type selected for the design can have major impacts on a member's downstream customers' ability to qualify. If your Bluetooth enabled product is not intended for your downstream customers to make changes to the design's core functionality, it is recommended to qualify as an End Product or Subsystem product type.

Those designs that allow for changes to core functionality should be qualified as a Component (Tested) product type. The table below outlines some of the advantages and disadvantages of the different product types and may help members determine the best choice to benefit their customers.

Qualifying an End Product/Subsystem		Qualifying a Component (Tested)
Advantages	Disadvantages	Advantages	Disadvantages
Customers do not have to perform any testing when qualifying Customers do not have to indicate support for and perform testing for expedited errata in their qualifications referencing the End Product/Subsystem	Customers may not make changes to the core functionality of the Bluetooth design	Customers may make changes to the core functionality of the Bluetooth design	Customer may only inherit test evidence for three years (Component owner will need to perform re-assessment to allow further inheritance Customers will need to indicate support for and provide test evidence for any expedited errata released in TCRLs Since the Component's assessment Customers will have to resolve any Consistency Check invalids in the ICS Selection phase of the Qualification which can be a difficult and error-prone process for less technical customers

For more articles on Qualification topics, please see the Qualification Table of Contents.

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