IEC 61636:2016

IEC 61636 ®
Edition 1.0 2016-11
™
IEEE Std 1636
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
Software Interface for Maintenance Information Collection and Analysis (SIMICA)

All rights reserved. IEEE is a registered trademark in the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, owned by the Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced
or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without
permission in writing from the IEC Central Office. Any questions about IEEE copyright should be addressed to the

IEEE. Enquiries about obtaining additional rights to this publication and other information requests should be
addressed to the IEC or your local IEC member National Committee.

IEC Central Office Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.
3, rue de Varembé 3 Park Avenue
CH-1211 Geneva 20 New York, NY 10016-5997
Switzerland United States of America
Tel.: +41 22 919 02 11 stds.info@ieee.org
Fax: +41 22 919 03 00 www.ieee.org
info@iec.ch
www.iec.ch
About the IEC
The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is the leading global organization that prepares and publishes
International Standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies.

About IEC publications
The technical content of IEC publications is kept under constant review by the IEC. Please make sure that you have the
latest edition, a corrigenda or an amendment might have been published.

IEC Catalogue - webstore.iec.ch/catalogue Electropedia - www.electropedia.org
The stand-alone application for consulting the entire The world's leading online dictionary of electronic and
bibliographical information on IEC International Standards, electrical terms containing 20 000 terms and definitions in
Technical Specifications, Technical Reports and other English and French, with equivalent terms in 15 additional
documents. Available for PC, Mac OS, Android Tablets and languages. Also known as the International Electrotechnical
iPad. Vocabulary (IEV) online.

IEC publications search - www.iec.ch/searchpub IEC Glossary - std.iec.ch/glossary
The advanced search enables to find IEC publications by a 65 000 electrotechnical terminology entries in English and
variety of criteria (reference number, text, technical French extracted from the Terms and Definitions clause of
committee,…). It also gives information on projects, replaced IEC publications issued since 2002. Some entries have been
and withdrawn publications. collected from earlier publications of IEC TC 37, 77, 86 and

CISPR.
IEC Just Published - webstore.iec.ch/justpublished

Stay up to date on all new IEC publications. Just Published IEC Customer Service Centre - webstore.iec.ch/csc
details all new publications released. Available online and If you wish to give us your feedback on this publication or
also once a month by email. need further assistance, please contact the Customer Service
Centre: csc@iec.ch.
IEC 61636 ®
Edition 1.0 2016-11
IEEE Std 1636™
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
Software Interface for Maintenance Information Collection and Analysis (SIMICA)

INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
ICS 25.040.01; 35.060 ISBN 978-2-8322-3686-4

– i – IEEE Std 1636-2013
Contents
1. Overview . 1
1.1 General . 1
1.2 Scope . 3
1.3 Purpose . 3
1.4 Application . 3
1.5 Conventions used in this document . 3
2. Normative references . 3
3. Definitions . 4
4. Backgrounds . 5
4.1 Diagnostic maturation . 5
4.2 Relationship to IEEE Std 1232 (AI-ESTATE) . 6
4.3 Relationship to IEEE 1636 (SIMICA) component standards . 6
5. Information model . 6
5.1 SIMICA_MODEL . 7
6. Conformance .20
Annex A (informative) Bibliography .21
Annex B (informative) Overview of EXPRESS.22
B.1 Schema .22
B.2 Entity .22
B.3 Attribute .23
B.4 Type definition .24
B.5 Subtypes/supertypes .24
B.6 External schema references .25
B.7 Uniqueness constraints and WHERE clauses .26
B.8 Functions and procedures .27

$QQH[&LQIRUPDWLYH,(((OLVWRISDUWLFLSDQWV.28

vii
IEEE Std 1636-2013 – ii –
SOFTWARE INTERFACE
FOR MAINTENANCE INFORMATION COLLECTION
AND ANALYSIS (SIMICA)
)25(:25'
 7KH,QWHUQDWLRQDO(OHFWURWHFKQLFDO&RPPLVVLRQ,(&LVDZRUOGZLGHRUJDQL]DWLRQIRUVWDQGDUGL]DWLRQFRPSULVLQJ
DOO QDWLRQDO HOHFWURWHFKQLFDO FRPPLWWHHV ,(& 1DWLRQDO &RPPLWWHHV7KHREMHFWRI,(&LVWRSURPRWH
LQWHUQDWLRQDOFRRSHUDWLRQRQDOOTXHVWLRQVFRQFHUQLQJVWDQGDUGL]DWLRQLQWKHHOHFWULFDODQGHOHFWURQLFILHOGV7R
WKLVHQGDQGLQDGGLWLRQWRRWKHUDFWLYLWLHV,(&SXEOLVKHV,QWHUQDWLRQDO6WDQGDUGV7HFKQLFDO6SHFLILFDWLRQV
7HFKQLFDO 5HSRUWV 3XEOLFO\ $YDLODEOH 6SHFLILFDWLRQV 3$6 DQG *XLGHV KHUHDIWHU UHIHUUHG WR DV ³,(&
3XEOLFDWLRQV´7KHLUSUHSDUDWLRQLVHQWUXVWHGWRWHFKQLFDOFRPPLWWHHVDQ\,(&1DWLRQDO&RPPLWWHHLQWHUHVWHG
LQ WKH VXEMHFW GHDOW ZLWK PD\ SDUWLFLSDWH LQ WKLV SUHSDUDWRU\ ZRUN ,QWHUQDWLRQDO JRYHUQPHQWDO DQG QRQ
JRYHUQPHQWDORUJDQL]DWLRQVOLDLVLQJZLWKWKH,(&DOVRSDUWLFLSDWHLQWKLVSUHSDUDWLRQ
,(((6WDQGDUGVGRFXPHQWVDUHGHYHORSHGZLWKLQ,(((6RFLHWLHVDQG6WDQGDUGV&RRUGLQDWLQJ&RPPLWWHHVRIWKH
,(((6WDQGDUGV$VVRFLDWLRQ,(((6$6WDQGDUGV%RDUG,(((GHYHORSVLWVVWDQGDUGVWKURXJKDFRQVHQVXV
GHYHORSPHQWSURFHVVZKLFKEULQJVWRJHWKHUYROXQWHHUVUHSUHVHQWLQJYDULHGYLHZSRLQWVDQGLQWHUHVWVWRDFKLHYH
WKHILQDOSURGXFW9ROXQWHHUVDUHQRWQHFHVVDULO\PHPEHUVRI,(((DQGVHUYHZLWKRXWFRPSHQVDWLRQ:KLOH,(((
DGPLQLVWHUVWKHSURFHVVDQGHVWDEOLVKHVUXOHVWRSURPRWHIDLUQHVVLQWKHFRQVHQVXVGHYHORSPHQWSURFHVV,(((
GRHV QRW LQGHSHQGHQWO\ HYDOXDWH WHVW RU YHULI\ WKH DFFXUDF\ RI DQ\ RI WKH LQIRUPDWLRQ FRQWDLQHG LQ LWV
VWDQGDUGV8VHRI,(((6WDQGDUGVGRFXPHQWVLVZKROO\YROXQWDU\,(((GRFXPHQWVDUHPDGHDYDLODEOHIRUXVH
VXEMHFWWRLPSRUWDQWQRWLFHVDQGOHJDOGLVFODLPHUVVHHKWWSVWDQGDUGVLHHHRUJ,35GLVFODLPHUVKWPOIRUPRUH
LQIRUPDWLRQ
,(&FROODERUDWHVFORVHO\ZLWK,(((LQDFFRUGDQFHZLWKFRQGLWLRQVGHWHUPLQHGE\DJUHHPHQWEHWZHHQWKHWZR
RUJDQL]DWLRQV
 7KHIRUPDOGHFLVLRQVRI,(&RQWHFKQLFDOPDWWHUVH[SUHVVDVQHDUO\DVSRVVLEOHDQLQWHUQDWLRQDOFRQVHQVXVRI
RSLQLRQRQWKHUHOHYDQWVXEMHFWVVLQFHHDFKWHFKQLFDOFRPPLWWHHKDVUHSUHVHQWDWLRQIURPDOOLQWHUHVWHG,(&
1DWLRQDO&RPPLWWHHV7KHIRUPDOGHFLVLRQVRI,(((RQWHFKQLFDOPDWWHUVRQFHFRQVHQVXVZLWKLQ,(((6RFLHWLHV
DQG6WDQGDUGV&RRUGLQDWLQJ&RPPLWWHHVKDVEHHQUHDFKHGLVGHWHUPLQHGE\DEDODQFHGEDOORWRIPDWHULDOO\
LQWHUHVWHG SDUWLHV ZKR LQGLFDWH LQWHUHVW LQ UHYLHZLQJ WKH SURSRVHG VWDQGDUG )LQDO DSSURYDO RI WKH ,(((
VWDQGDUGVGRFXPHQWLVJLYHQE\WKH,(((6WDQGDUGV$VVRFLDWLRQ,(((6$6WDQGDUGV%RDUG
 ,(&,((( 3XEOLFDWLRQV KDYH WKH IRUP RI UHFRPPHQGDWLRQV IRU LQWHUQDWLRQDO XVH DQG DUH DFFHSWHG E\ ,(&
1DWLRQDO&RPPLWWHHV,(((6RFLHWLHVLQWKDWVHQVH:KLOHDOOUHDVRQDEOHHIIRUWVDUHPDGHWRHQVXUHWKDWWKH
WHFKQLFDOFRQWHQWRI,(&,(((3XEOLFDWLRQVLVDFFXUDWH,(&RU,(((FDQQRWEHKHOGUHVSRQVLEOHIRUWKHZD\LQ
ZKLFKWKH\DUHXVHGRUIRUDQ\PLVLQWHUSUHWDWLRQE\DQ\HQGXVHU
 ,QRUGHUWRSURPRWHLQWHUQDWLRQDOXQLIRUPLW\,(&1DWLRQDO&RPPLWWHHVXQGHUWDNHWRDSSO\,(&3XEOLFDWLRQV
LQFOXGLQJ,(&,(((3XEOLFDWLRQVWUDQVSDUHQWO\WRWKHPD[LPXPH[WHQWSRVVLEOHLQWKHLUQDWLRQDODQGUHJLRQDO
SXEOLFDWLRQV$Q\GLYHUJHQFHEHWZHHQDQ\,(&,(((3XEOLFDWLRQDQGWKHFRUUHVSRQGLQJQDWLRQDORUUHJLRQDO
SXEOLFDWLRQVKDOOEHFOHDUO\LQGLFDWHGLQWKHODWWHU
 ,(&DQG,(((GRQRWSURYLGHDQ\DWWHVWDWLRQRIFRQIRUPLW\,QGHSHQGHQWFHUWLILFDWLRQERGLHVSURYLGHFRQIRUPLW\
DVVHVVPHQWVHUYLFHVDQGLQVRPHDUHDVDFFHVVWR,(&PDUNVRIFRQIRUPLW\,(&DQG,(((DUHQRWUHVSRQVLEOH
IRUDQ\VHUYLFHVFDUULHGRXWE\LQGHSHQGHQWFHUWLILFDWLRQERGLHV
 $OOXVHUVVKRXOGHQVXUHWKDWWKH\KDYHWKHODWHVWHGLWLRQRIWKLVSXEOLFDWLRQ
 1ROLDELOLW\VKDOODWWDFKWR,(&RU,(((RUWKHLUGLUHFWRUVHPSOR\HHVVHUYDQWVRUDJHQWVLQFOXGLQJLQGLYLGXDO
H[SHUWVDQGPHPEHUVRIWHFKQLFDOFRPPLWWHHVDQG,(&1DWLRQDO&RPPLWWHHVRUYROXQWHHUVRI,(((6RFLHWLHV
DQGWKH6WDQGDUGV&RRUGLQDWLQJ&RPPLWWHHVRIWKH,(((6WDQGDUGV$VVRFLDWLRQ,(((6$6WDQGDUGV%RDUG
IRUDQ\SHUVRQDOLQMXU\SURSHUW\GDPDJHRURWKHUGDPDJHRIDQ\QDWXUHZKDWVRHYHUZKHWKHUGLUHFWRULQGLUHFW
RUIRUFRVWVLQFOXGLQJOHJDOIHHVDQGH[SHQVHVDULVLQJRXWRIWKHSXEOLFDWLRQXVHRIRUUHOLDQFHXSRQWKLV
,(&,(((3XEOLFDWLRQRUDQ\RWKHU,(&RU,(((3XEOLFDWLRQV
 $WWHQWLRQLVGUDZQWRWKHQRUPDWLYHUHIHUHQFHVFLWHGLQWKLVSXEOLFDWLRQ8VHRIWKHUHIHUHQFHGSXEOLFDWLRQVLV
LQGLVSHQVDEOHIRUWKHFRUUHFWDSSOLFDWLRQRIWKLVSXEOLFDWLRQ
 $WWHQWLRQ LV GUDZQ WR WKH SRVVLELOLW\ WKDW LPSOHPHQWDWLRQ RI WKLV ,(&,((( 3XEOLFDWLRQ PD\ UHTXLUH XVH RI
PDWHULDOFRYHUHGE\SDWHQWULJKWV%\SXEOLFDWLRQRIWKLVVWDQGDUGQRSRVLWLRQLVWDNHQZLWKUHVSHFWWRWKH
H[LVWHQFHRUYDOLGLW\RIDQ\SDWHQWULJKWVLQFRQQHFWLRQWKHUHZLWK,(&RU,(((VKDOOQRWEHKHOGUHVSRQVLEOHIRU
LGHQWLI\LQJ(VVHQWLDO3DWHQW&ODLPVIRUZKLFKDOLFHQVHPD\EHUHTXLUHGIRUFRQGXFWLQJLQTXLULHVLQWRWKHOHJDO
YDOLGLW\ RU VFRSH RI 3DWHQW &ODLPV RU GHWHUPLQLQJ ZKHWKHU DQ\ OLFHQVLQJ WHUPV RU FRQGLWLRQV SURYLGHG LQ
FRQQHFWLRQZLWKVXEPLVVLRQRID/HWWHURI$VVXUDQFHLIDQ\RULQDQ\OLFHQVLQJDJUHHPHQWVDUHUHDVRQDEOHRU
QRQGLVFULPLQDWRU\8VHUVRIWKLVVWDQGDUGDUHH[SUHVVO\DGYLVHGWKDWGHWHUPLQDWLRQRIWKHYDOLGLW\RIDQ\SDWHQW
ULJKWVDQGWKHULVNRILQIULQJHPHQWRIVXFKULJKWVLVHQWLUHO\WKHLURZQUHVSRQVLELOLW\

– iii – IEEE Std 1636-2013
,QWHUQDWLRQDO6WDQGDUG,(&,(((6WGKDVEHHQSURFHVVHGWKURXJK,(&WHFKQLFDO
FRPPLWWHH(OHFWURQLFVDVVHPEO\WHFKQRORJ\XQGHUWKH,(&,((('XDO/RJR$JUHHPHQW
7KHWH[WRIWKLVVWDQGDUGLVEDVHGRQWKHIROORZLQJGRFXPHQWV
,(((6WG )',6 5HSRUWRQYRWLQJ
 )',6 59'
)XOOLQIRUPDWLRQRQWKHYRWLQJIRUWKHDSSURYDORIWKLVVWDQGDUGFDQEHIRXQGLQWKHUHSRUWRQ
YRWLQJLQGLFDWHGLQWKHDERYHWDEOH
7KH,(&7HFKQLFDO&RPPLWWHHDQG,(((7HFKQLFDO&RPPLWWHHKDYHGHFLGHGWKDWWKHFRQWHQWV
RIWKLVSXEOLFDWLRQZLOOUHPDLQXQFKDQJHGXQWLOWKHVWDELOLW\GDWHLQGLFDWHGRQWKH,(&ZHEVLWH
XQGHUKWWSZHEVWRUHLHFFKLQWKHGDWDUHODWHGWRWKHVSHFLILFSXEOLFDWLRQ$WWKLVGDWHWKH
SXEOLFDWLRQZLOOEH
‡ UHFRQILUPHG
‡ ZLWKGUDZQ
‡ UHSODFHGE\DUHYLVHGHGLWLRQRU
‡ DPHQGHG

IEEE Std 1636-2013 –– iv – iv –

IEEE Standard for Software Interface
for Maintenance Information Collection
and Analysis (SIMICA)
Sponsor
IEEE Standards Coordinating Committee 20 on
Test and Diagnosis for Electronic Systems
Approved 19 March 2009
IEEE-SA Standards Board
Approved as a Full-Use Standard 5 December 2013
IEEE-SA Standards Board
– v – IEEE Std 1636-2013
Abstract: This document provides an implementation-independent specification for a software
interface to information systems containing data pertinent to the diagnosis and maintenance of
complex systems consisting of hardware, software, or any combination thereof. These interfaces
will support service definitions for creating application programming interfaces (API) for the
access, exchange, and analysis of historical diagnostic and maintenance information. This will
address the pervasive need of organizations to assess the effectiveness of diagnostics for
complex systems throughout the product life cycle. The use of formal information models will
facilitate exchanging historical maintenance information between information systems and
analysis tools. The models will facilitate creating open system software architectures for maturing
system diagnostics.
Keywords: AI-ESTATE, Automated Test Markup Language (ATML), diagnostic maturation,
,((( Maintenance Action Information, maintenance data, Software Interface for
Maintenance Information Collection and Analysis (SIMICA), Test Results and Session Information

x
IEEE Std 1636-2013 – vi –
IEEE Introduction
This introduction is not part of IEEE Std 1636-2009, IEEE Standard for Software Interface for Maintenance
Information Collection and Analysis (SIMICA).
The requirement for a specification for access and exchange of diagnostic and maintenance product
information has arisen due to a pervasive need for the organizations who deliver complex systems to
monitor the effectiveness of their product health management solutions in their customers’ application
domains. Accordingly, The IEEE SCC20 Diagnostic and Maintenance Control (DMC) subcommittee has
undertaken the task of developing a standard which fulfills this need. It is envisioned that SIMICA will
fulfill this need for all such consumers of diagnostic and maintenance data.
Notice to users
Laws and regulations
Users of IEEE Standards documents should consult all applicable laws and regulations. Compliance with
the provisions of any IEEE Standards document does not imply compliance to any applicable regulatory
requirements. Implementers of the standard are responsible for observing or referring to the applicable
regulatory requirements. IEEE does not, by the publication of its standards, intend to urge action that is not
in compliance with applicable laws, and these documents may not be construed as doing so.
Copyrights
This document is copyrighted by the IEEE. It is made available for a wide variety of both public and
private uses. These include both use, by reference, in laws and regulations, and use in private self-
regulation, standardization, and the promotion of engineering practices and methods. By making this
document available for use and adoption by public authorities and private users, the IEEE does not waive
any rights in copyright to this document.
Updating of IEEE documents
Users of IEEE Standards documents should be aware that these documents may be superseded at any time
by the issuance of new editions or may be amended from time to time through the issuance of amendments,
corrigenda, or errata. An official IEEE document at any point in time consists of the current edition of the
document together with any amendments, corrigenda, or errata then in effect. In order to determine whether
a given document is the current edition and whether it has been amended through the issuance of
amendments, corrigenda, or errata, visit the IEEE-SA Website at http://standards.ieee.org/index.html or
contact the IEEE at the address listed previously. For more information about the IEEE Standards
Association or the IEEE standards development process, visit IEEE-SA Website at
http://standards.ieee.org/index.html.

iv
– vii – IEEE Std 1636-2013
Errata
Errata, if any, for this and all other standards can be accessed at the following URL:
http://standards.ieee.org/findstds/errata/index.html. Users are encouraged to check this URL for errata
periodically.
Patents
Attention is called to the possibility that implementation of this standard may require use of subject matter
covered by patent rights. By publication of this standard, no position is taken by the IEEE with respect to
the existence or validity of any patent rights in connection therewith. If a patent holder or patent applicant
has filed a statement of assurance via an Accepted Letter of Assurance, then the statement is listed on the
IEEE-SA Website at http://standards.ieee.org/about/sasb/patcom/patents.html. Letters of Assurance may
indicate whether the Submitter is willing or unwilling to grant licenses under patent rights without
compensation or under reasonable rates, with reasonable terms and conditions that are demonstrably free of
any unfair discrimination to applicants desiring to obtain such licenses.
Essential Patent Claims may exist for which a Letter of Assurance has not been received. The IEEE is not
responsible for identifying Essential Patent Claims for which a license may be required, for conducting
inquiries into the legal validity or scope of Patents Claims, or determining whether any licensing terms or
conditions provided in connection with submission of a Letter of Assurance, if any, or in any licensing
agreements are reasonable or non-discriminatory. Users of this standard are expressly advised that
determination of the validity of any patent rights, and the risk of infringement of such rights, is entirely
their own responsibility. Further information may be obtained from the IEEE Standards Association.

v
IEEE Std 1636-2013 – 1 –
Software Interface
for Maintenance Information Collection
and Analysis (SIMICA)
IMPORTANT NOTICE: IEEE Standards documents are not intended to ensure safety, health, or
environmental protection, or ensure against interference with or from other devices or networks.
Implementers of IEEE Standards documents are responsible for determining and complying with all
appropriate safety, security, environmental, health, and interference protection practices and all
applicable laws and regulations.
This IEEE document is made available for use subject to important notices and legal disclaimers.
These notices and disclaimers appear in all publications containing this document and may
be found under the heading “Important Notice” or “Important Notices and Disclaimers
Concerning IEEE Documents.” They can also be obtained on request from IEEE or viewed at
http://standards.ieee.org/IPR/disclaimers.html.
1. Overview
1.1 General
This Standard Software Interface for Maintenance Information Collection and Analysis (SIMICA) was
developed by the Diagnostic and Maintenance Control Subcommittee of the IEEE Standards Coordinating
Committee 20 on Test and Diagnosis for Electronic Systems (SCC20) to provide standard, unambiguous
definitions of maintenance information semantics, interrelationships, and access services. This standard
defines a formal conceptual information model to relate maintenance information across concrete
information models. These models are related to the maturation of diagnostic systems and as such are
directly related to IEEE Std 1232™ . However this standard, in conjunction with its component standards,
can also be used independent of AI-ESTATE.
The goals of the 1636 family of standards are summarized here:
 Provide definitions of maintenance concepts and terminology relevant to the maturation of
diagnostic systems.
 Provide a set of information models that will serve as a basis for unambiguous interpretation and
communication of such data.
Information on references can be found in Clause 2.

– 2 – IEEE Std 1636-2013
IEEE Std 1636-2009
IEEE Standard for Software Interface for Maintenance Information Collection and Analysis (SIMICA)

 Support the development of a software interface for moving such data between conforming
applications.
This standard specifically describes a set of formal specifications consisting of the logical representation of
the information that is used and generated during related diagnostic and maintenance processes. The
information model contained in this document provides a standard model of the top-level information
concepts that support these processes. Other components of this family of standards will further develop
conceptual decompositions of key elements of these processes down to the elemental data level, where
specific software interfaces can be represented. The relationship of these components to each other is
shown in Figure 1. IEEE Std 1636.1™ defines an information model and XML schema for exchanging test
result and session information. IEEE P1636.2™ defines an information model and XML schema for
exchanging maintenance action information. Precise specification of the semantics of these data elements
will provide the basis for services supporting the unambiguous exchange of information between producers
and consumers of historical diagnosis and maintenance information in a platform-independent manner.
SIMICA exhibits a close relationship to the IEEE Std 1232 through its direct use of Dynamic Context
Model historical records of diagnostic sessions, which is also shown in Figure 1. The intent of this
relationship is to relate diagnostic session information to associated maintenance actions for further
analysis and maturation of diagnostic models and reasoner learning mechanisms.

Figure 1 —Relationship of SIMICA component EXPRESS schemata
This standard family provides a controlled extension mechanism of its software interface components to
allow inclusion of relevant new maintenance information elements currently outside the scope of the
SIMICA specification.
The SIMICA family of standards defines key information specification formats. Implementations that use
only these specification formats will be portable. This does not preclude use of SIMICA interfaces with
non-conformant specification formats; however, such implementations may not be portable.
Software specifications defined in the SIMICA family of standards will support the interchangeability of
information between conformant applications. This will allow a large degree of flexibility in
implementation of information application architectures that support information reuse and realize various
maintenance information services (such as, but not limited to, client-server approaches, service oriented
architectures, etc.).
IEEE Std 1636-2013 – 3 –
IEEE Std 1636-2009
IEEE Standard for Software Interface for Maintenance Information Collection and Analysis (SIMICA)

1.2 Scope
This standard is an implementation-independent specification for a software interface to information
systems containing data pertinent to the diagnosis and maintenance of complex systems consisting of
hardware, software, or any combination thereof. These interfaces will support service definitions for
creating application programming interfaces (API) for the access, exchange, and analysis of historical
diagnostic and maintenance information. The standard will use the information models of IEEE Std 1232 as
a foundation.
1.3 Purpose
The purpose of this standard is to specify a software interface for access, exchange, and analysis of product
diagnostic and maintenance information. This will address the pervasive need of organizations to assess the
effectiveness of diagnostics for complex systems throughout the product life cycle. The use of formal
information models will facilitate exchanging historical maintenance information between information
systems and analysis tools. The models will facilitate creating open system software architectures for
maturing system diagnostics.
1.4 Application
This standard should be applied in the development of software applications that access or provide
information relevant to the diagnosis and maintenance of systems. In the event of conflict between this
standard and a component standard in the IEEE 1636 family, the component standard shall take
precedence. In the event of conflict between this standard and a related standard such as IEEE Std 1232, the
standard as it applies to the information being produced shall take precedence. In the event of any conflict
between model comments and lexical definitions, lexical definitions shall take precedence.
1.5 Conventions used in this document
Clause 5 presents entity and concept definitions using the EXPRESS language as defined in ISO 10303-
11:1994 and uses the following conventions in their presentation:
All specifications in the EXPRESS language are given in the Courier type font when model elements
are represented outside the scope of the model.
This standard uses the vocabulary and definitions of relevant IEEE standards. In case of conflict of
definitions, the following precedence shall be observed: 1) Clause 3, Definitions; 2) The Authoritative
Dictionary of IEEE Standards Terms [B1] with preference given to versions of those definitions that are
attributed to SCC20 standards.
2. Normative references
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document (i.e., they must
be understood and used, so each referenced document is cited in text and its relationship to this document is
explained). For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of
the referenced document (including any amendments or corrigenda) applies.

The numbers in brackets correspond to those of the bibliography in Annex A.

– 4 – IEEE Std 1636-2013
IEEE Std 1636-2009
IEEE Standard for Software Interface for Maintenance Information Collection and Analysis (SIMICA)

IEEE Std 1232™, IEEE Standard for Artificial Intelligence Exchange and Service Tie to All Test
3, 4
Environments (AI-ESTATE).
™
IEEE Std 1636.1 -2007, IEEE Standard for Software Interface for Maintenance Information Collection
and Analysis (SIMICA): Exchanging Test Results and Session Information via the eXtensible Markup
Language (XML).
™
IEEE P1636.2 /D3.0 (August 2008), Draft Trial-Use Standard for Software Interface for Maintenance
Information Collection and Analysis (SIMICA): Exchanging Maintenance Action Information (MAI) via
the eXtensible Markup Language (XML).
ISO 10303-11:1994. Industrial automation systems and integration—Product data representation and
Exchange—Part 11: Description methods: The EXPRESS language reference manual, Geneva,
Switzerland: International Organization for Standardization.
3. Definitions
For the purposes of this standard, the following terms and definitions apply. The Authoritative Dictionary
of IEEE Standards Terms [B1] should be referenced for terms not defined in this clause. This clause
defines terms used in the SIMICA set of standards. A clear understanding of the following terms with
respect to testability and diagnosability is particularly important in order to understand this standard.
3.1 architectural device: In the context of software systems, a means that facilitates the arrangement of
software components or model elements to accomplish a specific purpose.
3.2 conceptual information model: An information model that is independent of any particular
instantiation form, i.e., is never intended to be realized.
3.3 concrete information model: An information model that is specialized to take account of a particular
instantiation method or data exchange format.
3.4 diagnostic maturation: The process of monitoring diagnostic system predicted vs. actual performance
to identify and implement corrective action. The goal is to enhance diagnostic effectiveness throughout the
product life cycle. Diagnostic elements that may benefit from the maturation process include (but are not
limited to) diagnostic models, system performance models, test programs, and even product design
improvements.
3.5 information model: A formal description of types of ideas, facts, and processes that together form a
model of a portion of interest of the real world and which provides an explicit set of interpretation rules.
3.6 level of indenture: A hierarchical partition in a physical or functional system decomposition.

IEEE publications are available from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 445 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, NJ 08854,
USA (http://standards.ieee.org).
The IEEE standards or products referred to in this clause are trademarks of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.
This IEEE standards project was not approved by the IEEE-SA Standards Board at the time this publication went to press. For
information about obtaining a draft, contact the IEEE.
ISO publications are available from the ISO Central Secretariat, Case Postale 56, 1 rue de Varembe, CH-1211, Geneve 20,
Switzerland/.Suisse (http://www.iso.ch/). ISO publications are also available in the United States from the Sales Department,
American National Standards Institute, 25 West 43rd Street, 4th floor, New York, NY 10036, USA (http://www.ansi.org/).

IEEE Std 1636-2013 – 5 –
IEEE Std 1636-2009
IEEE Standard for Software Interface for Maintenance Information Collection and Analysis (SIMICA)

3.7 system: A) A collection of entities to be processed by applying a top-down, hierarchical approach. B)
A collection of elements forming a collective, functioning entity. C) A collection of hardware or software
components necessary for performing a function.
4. Backgrounds
4.1 Diagnostic maturation
The process of maturing a system diagnostic design begins in the system’s conceptual design phase and
continues throughout the system life cycle. Generally diagnostic design are demonstrated prior to delivery
of the first unit to meet the diagnostic and health management requirements that have been levied.
However, once a system is fielded and used in an operational environment, unexpected and unplanned
system level design interactions, operational and environmental stresses, and other influences tend to reveal
deficiencies in the diagnostic capabilities. When such deficiencies result in a weapon system readiness or
cost of ownership problem, remedial actions must be taken:
 The performance issue must be clearly characterized in terms of scope, impact, and ownership.
 Root cause analysis must be performed to identify potential courses of actions, including
adjustments, improvements, or refinements to support and operational elements.
 The resulting courses of action must be deployed in a manner that is both economically feasible and
consistent with product functional and operational requirements.
The diagnostic maturation process requires access to design, maintenance, and logistics support
information sources. Aggregation of system failure and performance data from disparate information
sources is a multidisciplinary issue, i.e., relevant data exists within the purview of engineering, product
support, and other organizations. Each of these organizations is also multifaceted in nature. Engineering
organizations, for example, are composed of sub-disciplines such as design, reliability and maintainability,
etc. Compounding the problem is the fact that the data of interest resides in multiple systems each with
different owners where it does exist—and it should be recognized that some data that is desirable to have
might not be captured in data systems at all.
The problem can be reduced by operating with a single, unified conceptual view of the data to be extracted
from multiple sources. Therefore, the challenge is how to extract the information of interest—
heterogeneous system failure and performance data—from the disparate data systems where it resides. The
idea is to identify the information of interest—and in fact, to create an information model so that it is clear
what that data is and what it really means in the context of system usage and analysis—then determine the
process for obtaining that information. Once data requirements and availability are determined, one can
then begin trying to solve the puzzle of how to integrate the heterogeneous information to be obtained, i.e.,
how to relate the vital information from any one system to the others that capture related information but
using disparate data formats and semantics.
Data collection is a prerequisite for the maturation process, and the product data that is typically required
for maturation analysis is generally stored in heterogeneous data systems. This standard will facilitate
improved access, retrieval, and integration of the requisite information from these data systems. The intent
of the SIMICA family of specifications is to provide an implementation-independent specification for a
software interface to information systems containing data pertinent to the diagnosis and maintenance of
complex systems consisting of hardware, software, or any combination thereof. These interfaces will
support the creation of service definitions for application programming interfaces (API) for the access,
exchange, and analysis of historical diagnostic and maintenance information. The use of formal information
models will facilitate exchanging historical maintenance information between information systems and
analysis tools, supporting the creation of open system software architectures for maturing system

– 6 – IEEE Std 1636-2013
IEEE Std 1636-2009
IEEE Standard for Software Interface for Maintenance Information Collection and Analysis (SIMICA)

diagnostics. The component standards will further enhance the exchange of instance information between
conforming applications through the use of standard exchange formats.
More information on the diagnostic maturation process and associated issues can be found in The
Authoritative Dictionary of IEEE Standards Terms [B1], Wilmering 2001 [B5], and Wilmering, Yuan, and
VanRossum 2003 [B6].
4.2 Relationship to IEEE Std 1232 (AI-ESTATE)
IEEE Std 1232 is an information exchange standard for test and diagnosis. The standard defines the
architecture of an AI-ESTATE-conformant system, information models for knowledge and data exchange,
and a set of standard software services to be provided by a diagnostic reasoner in an open-architecture test
environment. Because it provides formal definitions (via information modeling) of the information required
for test and diagnosis, it will serve as a basis for information requirements in this standard. The SIMICA
information model directly references the IEEE Std 1232’s Dynamic Context Model historical records of
diagnostic sessions. This facilitates relating diagnostic session information to associated maintenance
actions (as specified in IEEE P1636.2/D3.0). Such associations support analysis and maturation of
diagnostic models and reasoner methods.
4.3 Relationship to IEEE 1636 (SIMICA) component standards
As described in Figure 1 and accompanying text, the SIMICA family of standards is composed of this
specification, IEEE Std 1636.1 Test Results and Session Information (TRSI), and IEEE P1636.2
Maintenance Action Information (MAI). The latter two documents specify concrete information models
supporting software interfaces for SIMICA data elements and are related through the conceptual
information model provided in this standard.
IEEE Std 1636.1 provides a software interface between components of an automatic test system (e.g.,
between test executive and diagnostic reasoner) where test results need to be shared. It will therefore
facilitate the capture of test results data in storage devices and databases, supporting online and offline
analysis of system test performance.
IEEE P1636.2 provides a software interface between components of a test system and applications in a
maintenance environment where maintenance action information needs to be shared. It will facilitate the
capture and exchange of Unit Under Test–specific maintenance information, supporting online and offline
analysis of the maintenance process.
It is anticipated that there will be additional SIMICA component standards added in the future.
5. Information model
This clause contains the specification for the SIMICA information model. The model is defined using
EXPRESS (ISO 10303-11:1994).
(* EXPRESS Specification starts here *)
(*
IEEE Std 1636-2013 – 7 –
IEEE Std 1636-2009
IEEE Standard for Software Interface for Maintenance Information Collection and Analysis (SIMICA)

5.1 SIMICA_MODEL
The EXPRESS schema "SIMICA_MODEL" defines a high-level information model representing the
essential information (and associated semantics) required to support system maintenance activities. The
intent of this schema is to provide a conceptual model of maintenance information relative to system
diagnostic maturation.
EXPRESS specification:
*)
SCHEMA SIMICA_MODEL;
USE FROM AI_ESTATE_COMMON_ELEMENT_MODEL
(DiagnosticModel AS AIESTATEModel);
USE FROM AI_ESTATE_DYNAMIC_CONTEXT_MODEL
(ActualRepairItem,
Session);
USE FROM SIMICA_MAI_MODEL
(MaintenanceActionInformation);
USE FROM TEST_RESULTS_MODEL
(TestResults);
(*
5.1.1 AvailabilityModel
Entity "AvailabilityModel" is a subtype of "DesignModel" and shall represent a model of the ability of the
system to perform without failure (reliability) and to be restored to service quickly (a function of both
maintainability and the level and accessibility of support resources). Availability is expressed as a steady-
state probability that a component or system is in service. Specific details for this model will be defined in
a separate component of the SIMICA family of standards.
EXPRESS specification:
*)
ENTITY AvailabilityModel
SUBTYPE OF(DesignModel);
END_ENTITY;
(*
5.1.2 CostModel
Entity "CostModel" is a subtype of "DesignModel" and shall represent a model of the costs associated with
the manufacture, operation, and support of a system.

– 8 – IEEE Std 1636-2013
IEEE Std 1636-2009
IEEE Standard for Software Interface for Maintenance Information Collection and Analysis (SIMICA)

EXPRESS specification:
*)
ENTITY CostModel
SUBTYPE OF(DesignModel);
END_ENTITY;
(*
5.1.3 DesignLibrary
Entity "DesignLibrary" shall represent a library of design documents for a particular system. As a
supertype, DesignLibrary is a container of documentation relevant to the system design.
EXPRESS specification:
*)
ENTITY DesignLibrary;
END_ENTITY;
(*
5.1.4 DesignModel
Entity "DesignModel" shall provide a container for a set of system models characterizing different aspects
of a system design.
EXPRESS specification:
*)
ENTITY DesignModel;
END_ENTITY;
(*
5.1.5 DesignSpecification
Entity "DesignSpecification" is a subtype of "DesignLibrary" and shall represent the requirements and
specification documentation for a particular system.

IEEE Std 1636-2013 – 9 –
IEEE Std 1636-2009
IEEE Standard for Software Interface for Maintenance Information Collection and Analysis (SIMICA)

EXPRESS specification:
*)
ENTITY DesignSpecification
SUBTYPE OF(DesignLibrary);
END_ENTITY;
(*
5.1.6 DiagnosticModel
Entity "DiagnosticModel" is a subtype of "DesignModel" and shall represent a model of a system to be
used in determining the cause of a particular behavior or set of observations about the system. Typically, a
diagnostic model is used to determine the cause of failure in a system in order to initiate a repair.
EXPRESS specification:
*)
ENTITY DiagnosticModel
SUBTYPE OF(DesignModel);
modelInstance : OPTIONAL SET [1:?] OF AIESTATEModel;
END_ENTITY;
(*
Attribute definitions:
modelInstance : Attribute "modelInstance" shall identify a set of AI-ESTATE-
conformant diagnostic models associated with the system of interest.
5.1.7 DrawingPackage
Entity "DrawingPackage" is a subtype of "DesignLibrary" and shall represent the elements necessary for
the specification of system drawings.
EXPRESS specification:
*)
ENTITY DrawingPackage
SUBTYPE OF(DesignLibrary);
END_ENTITY;
(*
– 10 – IEEE Std 1636-2013
IEEE Std 1636-2009
IEEE Standard for Software Interface for Maintenance Information Collection and Analysis (SIMICA)

5.1.8 MaintainabilityModel
Entity "MaintainabilityModel" is a subtype of "DesignModel" and shall
...