Suite · Methodology
Certification Lifecycle
The Certification Lifecycle defines the complete progression of a certification
from initial submission through validation, evaluation, issuance, monitoring,
renewal, retirement, and archive.
The lifecycle provides temporal structure for Certifier and certification-domain activity.
Other Suite institutions may reference or interact with certification records while retaining
independent authority over their own canonical object lifecycles.
Submission
A certification target is identified, submitted, or selected for review.
Initial metadata, scope, and intended certification standard are recorded.
Validation
The submission is checked for required structural and procedural conditions before formal evaluation.
Validation remains distinct from eligibility, evaluation, conformance, certification outcome, and publication.
Evidence Collection
Required evidence is gathered, organized, referenced, and prepared for review
according to the applicable evidence requirements.
Evaluation
Governed evidence is evaluated under the applicable criteria, scoring methodology,
and certification standard. Evaluation remains distinct from validation and from any later Attestor trust conclusion.
Decision
A governed certification determination is reached under the applicable standards and methodology.
The certification determination remains distinct from later lifecycle states such as suspension,
revocation, expiration, renewal, retirement, or archival treatment.
Issuance
Where the certification determination permits issuance, the Certification Package and associated
structured records may be created with applicable identifiers, metadata, evidence references,
and verification-ready fields. Canonical creation remains distinct from lifecycle activation and publication.
Publication
Certification records may be published under Certifier authority and may later be
referenced by independently governed registration, integrity-preservation, discovery,
indexing, or public-verification mechanisms.
Monitoring
Active certifications may be monitored for changes, expiration, corrections,
disputes, updated evidence, or conditions requiring review.
Renewal
Certifications may be renewed when updated evidence, continued validity,
or periodic review supports continued certification status.
Retirement and Archive
Certifications that are no longer active may be retired while remaining
preserved as part of the permanent institutional record.