Enabling Software Product Qualification
Summary
This change proposes that specific software product sets should be allowed to complete qualification independently of any specific REC Party. The product set would then be subject to its own maintenance of qualification by following the REC Maintenance of Qualification processes. Any REC Party using that product set would then be able to ‘place reliance’ on this qualification as part of their own market entry and annual maintenance statements.
Latest update and next planned activity
Date of latest update
Latest Update
26/03/2024 - Adoption window closed and change fully withdrawn.
Impacts Overview
Other Industry Codes impacted
Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC)
Priority and rationale
Standard
Priority last updated on 29 May 2026
Solution development
No documents available.
There is currently no Change Plan.
Original submission
Change details
Ann Perry - -
6 Oct 2022
Change details
Enabling Software Product Qualification
The current Retail Energy Code (REC) Entry assessment process qualifies organisations through successful completion of the specific tasks set out in the REC Entry Assessment Information Pack. The applicant’s systems, business processes and resources are assessed during REC Entry Assessment with a Business Solution Assessment (BSA). Internal and External Test Assessments are also required. Applicants may be using third-party services for their software and/or business processes, which have already successfully completed entry assessment with other applicants, and which are operating in the industry without any restrictions. However, the current obligations require that the applicant must complete the same steps and tests even though these have already been proven, often multiple times. Applicants already qualified now need to complete annual qualification and maintenance statements. If multiple REC parties use the same third-party product set, the same statement regarding software and processes will be received by the REC multiple times and possibly be subject to the same checks. This change proposes that specific software product sets should be allowed to complete qualification independently of any specific REC Party. The product set would then be subject to its own maintenance of qualification by following the REC Maintenance of Qualification processes. Any REC Party using that product set would then be able to ‘place reliance’ on this qualification as part of their own market entry and annual maintenance statements.
The process of completing Self-Assessment and Market Scenario Testing can take a number of weeks/months for both the applicant and the governing body. If the software and services are being provided by a third-party provider, the third-party is usually completing these steps and may have completed the same tests a few months previously or many times previously. All of the activity to review self-assessment and assure testing is currently done by the REC Code Manager at no cost to the market entrant, meaning these costs are socialised amongst existing REC Parties. There is therefore a significant cost, as well as time saving, that will be achieved by reducing this repetition. Similarly, if a third-party does make a significant change to their software or processes, these changes would affect all users of that third-party product set. All users may be subjected to the same further testing, causing significant impact on RECCo and the Code Manager to repeat these actions, with no perceivable benefit.
Third-party software and services providers should be allowed to qualify and maintain relevant product sets so that applicants can place reliance on this qualification as part of their own REC Entry Assessment, and that REC Parties can also place reliance as part of annual qualification and maintenance returns. It is proposed that product sets can be qualified with the third-party provider completing the market entry steps as follows: • Business Solution Assessment (where applicable to software and services but not the organisation) • Internal Test Assessment • RTS External Test Assessment • Annual Maintenance The applicant organisation would complete the following market entry steps: • REC portal access • Complete Entry Assessment Application Form • REC accession • Entry assessment Plan (with the support of the third-party service provider.) • Business Solution Assessment (where applicable to the organization but place reliance on the third-party service provider for software and services) • Qualification • Annual maintenance (the focus of this would be shifted and there may be different questions asked) • Internal Test Assessments that focussed on the use and knowledge of the qualified system
This proposal is in alignment with arrangements under the Smart Energy Code, whereby Shared Resource Providers have been able to undertake testing on DCC ‘adapter’ systems (the ‘User’ system), and also undertake CIO assessments. SEC Parties using that DCC adapter have then been able to place reliance on testing undertaken by the Shared Resource Provider. This principle has also been used as part of User Entry Process testing for the Switching Programme. There is therefore precedent set within other codes. Under the REC some third-party software providers have completed the Entry Assessment process for over 60 organisations, providing evidence for a variant of the same 32 supplier test scenarios each time, sometimes twice within a 12-month period. At the same time as providing this testing evidence, the same third-party software and services could be in use by over 40 live industry parties without any detrimental impact to the industry or other parties. It is felt that a single qualification of the product set with the maintenance of this qualification and its proven running in the industry, provides a higher value of confidence in the software and processes than running the same static tests does. Maintenance of the qualification would be achieved by the submission of the annual maintenance statement, as per the Market Entry Interactive Industry Session on the REC website, this wouldn't detail every update made to remain industry compliant but would highlight anything which it is believed the REC would class as a significant change. Changes which wouldn't be notified but which would be carried out to remain compliant include industry lead CSS and DTC flow changes, industry led process changes, minor software patches and fixes. All changes would go through the third-party change release process of analysis, development and internal system testing before being released to industry parties. These processes would be detailed during the third-party qualification of the product set in the relevant BSA section.
Impacts
Other (please specify in the Additional information box below)
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All Consumer types would benefit from simplification of process and reduction in duplicated effort, thereby reducing overall cost to Industry.
Schedule 9 - Qualification and Maintenance
Category 3 documents will also require updating: Entry Assessment Information Pack REC and BSC Joint Storyboards
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Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC)
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Yes
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Priority & timing
Yes
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