http://dx.doi.org/10.6028/NISTIR.XXXX

BioCTS 2012:

Advanced Conformance Test 

Architectures and Test Suites for 

Biometric Data Interchange Formats and 

Biometric Information Records

Fernando L. Podio

Dylan Yaga

Christofer J. McGinnis

http://dx.doi.org/10.6028/NIST.IR.7877 

NISTIR 7877
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iii

NISTIR 7877

BioCTS 2012:

Advanced Conformance Test 

Architectures and Test Suites for 

Biometric Data Interchange Formats and 

Biometric Information Records

Fernando L. Podio

Dylan Yaga

Christofer J. McGinnis

Computer Security Division

Information Technology Laboratory

http://dx.doi.org/10.6028/NIST.IR.7877

September 2012

.

U.S. Department of Commerce

Acting Secretary Rebecca M. Blank

National Institute of Standards and Technology

Patrick Gallagher, Under Secretary for Standards and Technology and Director
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This page left intentionally blank
v

Reports on Computer Systems Technology

The Information Technology Laboratory (ITL) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology 

(NIST) promotes the U.S. economy and public welfare by providing technical leadership for the 

Nation’s measurement and standards infrastructure. ITL develops tests, test methods, reference data, 

proof of concept implementations, and technical analysis to advance the development and productive 

use of information technology. ITL’s responsibilities include the development of technical, physical, 

administrative, and management standards and guidelines for the cost-effective security and privacy 

of sensitive unclassified information in Federal computer systems. This Interagency Report 

discusses ITL’s research, guidance, and outreach efforts in computer security, and its collaborative 

activities with industry, government, and academic organizations.

National Institute of Standards and Technology Interagency Report

39 pages (2012)

Certain commercial entities, equipment, or materials may be identified in 

this document in order to describe an experimental procedure or concept 

adequately. Such identification is not intended to imply recommendation 

or endorsement by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, nor 

is it intended to imply that the entities, materials, or equipment are 

necessarily the best available for the purpose.
vi

Feedback Suggested

These Conformance Test Architectures and Test Suites, User Guides, and sample (“pass/fail”) data 

are available from the following web site: 

http://www.nist.gov/itl/csd/biometrics/biocta_download.cfm.

Feedback on BioCTS 2012, the sample data, and documentation is welcome. Please send comments 

to biocts@nist.gov.

Abstract

The Computer Security Division of the Information Technology Laboratory at the National Institute 

of Standards and Technology (NIST/ITL) supports the development of biometric conformance testing 

methodology standards and other conformity assessment efforts through active technical participation 

in the development of these standards and the associated conformance test architectures and test 

suites. BioCTS 2012 is biometric conformance test software designed to test implementations for 

conformance to various biometric data interchange format standards. BioCTS 2012 for the American 

National Standards Institute (ANSI)/NIST-ITL 1-2011 tests implementations of NIST SP 500-290 

ANSI/NIST ITL 1-2011 (AN-2011) “Data Format for the Interchange of Fingerprint, Facial & Other 

Biometric Information” using test assertions documented in NIST SP 500-295, “Conformance Testing 

Methodology for ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011, Data Format for the Interchange of Fingerprint, Facial & 

Other Biometric Information (Release 1.0)”. BioCTS 2012 for the International Standards 

Organization/International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC) tests implementations of 

biometric data interchange formats developed by Subcommittee 37 – Biometrics of the Joint 

Technical Committee 1 – Information Technology of ISO and IEC. Support for testing Biometric 

Information Records (BIRs) conforming to instantiations of the Common Biometric Exchange 

Formats Framework (CBEFF) specified in national and international standards is also provided. 

BioCTS 2012 for ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 is currently designed to support testing of implementations 

that include any of the Record Types defined in AN-2011, but conformance testing is only performed 

for the selected Record Types (1, 4, 10, 13, 14, 15, and 17). Plans exist to extend the test tool to 

support additional Record Types. Information regarding BioCTS 2012 testing architectures, code 

structure, and other software design details is provided. 

Disclaimer

Statements made in this paper should not be interpreted as standards, guidelines, best practices, or 

recommendations for specific changes to any other NIST publications.

Acknowledgements

The work discussed in this publication was sponsored, in part, by the Department of Homeland 

Security/ United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT) Program.
vii

Table of Contents 

1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1

1.1 Background on Related Standards.......................................................................................1

1.1.1 ISO/IEC standards ...................................................................................................................................1

1.1.2 ANSI/NIST-ITL Standards.........................................................................................................................1

1.2 Need for Conformance Testing to Biometric Standards........................................................2

1.3 BioCTS 2012 Release...........................................................................................................3

1.3.1 BioCTS 2012 for ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 (AN-2011)..................................................................................3

1.3.2 BioCTS 2012 for ISO/IEC..........................................................................................................................3

1.3.3 Requirements to Install and run BioCTS 2012 ........................................................................................5

1.3.4 Roadmaps of Conformance Test Tool Developments ............................................................................5

2 Standard Data Structures and BioCTS Design Philosophy ................................................ 6

2.1 Data Structures Defined in the Standards............................................................................6

2.1.1 ISO/IEC 19794-x (2G) Biometric Data Interchange Formats...................................................................6

2.1.2 ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 Transactions ........................................................................................................7

2.2 NIST/ITL BioCTS 2012 Design...............................................................................................8

2.3 BioCTS 2012 for ISO/IEC standards and CBEFF BIRs............................................................11

2.3.1 Data Structures and Parsing of Binary Files Specified by JTC 1/SC 37 ..................................................11

2.3.2 Biometric Information Records.............................................................................................................14

2.4 BioCTS 2012 for AN-2011 - Testing of AN-2011 High-Level Architecture..............................16

2.4.1 Data Structures and Class Diagrams of BioCTS 2012 for AN-2011 .......................................................16

2.4.2 Parsing ..................................................................................................................................................18

2.4.3 Testing ..................................................................................................................................................19

2.4.4 Clarifying AN-2011 Field Structure Definitions.....................................................................................22

2.4.5 BioCTS 2012 for AN-2011 Testing Exceptions.......................................................................................25

3 References ................................................................................................................... 27

Annex A – Roadmaps of Biometric Data Interchange Formats and Conformance Testing 

Methodologies.................................................................................................................... 28

A.1 First Generation of ISO/IEC Data Interchange Format Standards..............................................28

A.2 Second Generation of ISO/IEC Data Interchange Format Standards .........................................29

Annex B – Roadmaps of Conformance Test Tools for Biometric Data Interchange Formats ... 30

B.1 CTSs Designed to Test Implementations of AN-2011 Transactions............................................30

B.2 CTSs Designed to Test Implementations of ISO/IEC Data Interchange Formats .........................31

B.3 CTS Designed to Test Implementations of PIV profiles specified in NIST SP 800-76-2 ................32

List of Figures and Tables 

Figure 2-1: Structure of JTC 1/SC 37 Biometric Data Interchange Records (BDIRs) .......................................................7

Figure 2-2: High-level Structure of an ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 Transaction.....................................................................8

Figure 2 3: “Result” Class.............................................................................................................................................10

Figure 2 4: “eLevel” and “eResult”...............................................................................................................................10
viii

Figure 2 5: “Field” Class...............................................................................................................................................11

Figure 2 6: “Header” Class...........................................................................................................................................11

Figure 2 7: “Representation” Class ..............................................................................................................................12

Figure 2 8: “Data Format” Class ..................................................................................................................................12

Figure 2 9: CBEFF Structure and Elements...................................................................................................................14

Figure 2 10: “BIR, PatronFormat”, “DataFormat”, and “SecurityFormat” Classes......................................................15

Figure 2-11: BioCTS 2012 for ISO/IEC High-Level Architecture ....................................................................................16

Figure 2 12: “Field” and “Subfield” Classes..................................................................................................................17

Figure 2 13: “InformastionItem” and “BinarySubField” Classes ..................................................................................17

Figure 2-14: “Record” Class and Inheritance ...............................................................................................................18

Figure 2 15: BioCTS 2012 for AN-2011 High-Level Architecture ..................................................................................21

Table 2-1: Comparison of the Field Structure in the Standard and the Code...............................................................24

Figure 2.16: Generic AN-2011 Field Structure..............................................................................................................24

Figure 2.17: AN-2011 Field Structure Example ............................................................................................................25

Figure A.1: 1G Biometric Data Formats and Associated CTMs....................................................................................28

Figure A.2: 2G Biometric Data Formats and Associated CTMs....................................................................................29

Figure B.1: Roadmap of CTSs for AN-2011 Transactions.............................................................................................30

Figure B.2: Roadmap of CTSs for ISO/IEC Data Interchange Formats .........................................................................31

Figure B.3: Roadmap of CTSs for PIV Profiles Defined in NIST SP 800-76-2.................................................................32
1

1 Introduction

1.1 Background on Related Standards

The success of biometric applications is particularly dependent on the interoperability of biometric 

systems. Deploying these systems requires a comprehensive portfolio of biometric standards

developed in support of interoperability and data interchange. 

1.1.1 ISO/IEC standards

The international standards development body responsible for developing a comprehensive portfolio 

of biometric standards is ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 37 – Biometrics, a Subcommittee of the Joint Technical 

Committee 1 of the International Standards Organization/International Electrotechnical Commission 

(ISO/IEC) [1]. The Subcommittee operates under the principles of international standards 

development based on three key ISO principles: consensus, industry wide representation, and 

voluntary standards. Within its portfolio of development projects, JTC 1/SC 37’s scope of work 

includes the development of biometric data interchange formats for a number of biometric modalities 

and their associated conformance testing methodology standards. Figure A.1 depicts the roadmap of 

the “first generation” (1G) of biometric data interchange formats and associated conformance testing 

methodologies developed or under development in this Subcommittee. The 1G biometric data 

interchange formats are specified in binary encoding. As shown in the roadmap, these data formats

and most of the associated conformance testing methodologies are published (as indicated by the 

publication year). 

Figure A.2 depicts the “second generation” (2G) of biometric data interchange formats and 

associated conformance testing methodologies. The 2G data interchange formats (most of them have 

been published) are specified in binary encoding. As shown in the roadmap, amendments to most of 

the 2G standards are being developed to specify the equivalent Extensible Markup Language (XML)

encoding formats. The 2G conformance testing methodologies target the binary encoding formats. 

The Subcommittee recently initiated the development of the equivalent testing methodologies for the 

XML encoding formats specified in the 2G data interchange formats.

1.1.2 ANSI/NIST-ITL Standards

The American National Standards Institute/National Institute of Standards and TechnologyInformation Technology Laboratory (ANSI/NIST-ITL) standard "Data Format for the Interchange of 

Fingerprint, Facial & Other Biometric Information" is used by law enforcement, intelligence, 

military, and homeland security organizations throughout the world. The first version of the standard 

dates to 1986. Over the years, it has been updated and expanded to cover more biometric modalities 

beyond the original record type of fingerprint minutiae. ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011, NIST Special 

Publication 500-290 “Data Format for the Interchange of Fingerprint, Facial & Other Biometric 

Information” (AN-2011) supersedes all previous versions and amendments to the standard [2].

AN-2011 specifies two data encoding formats: Traditional format and National Information 

Exchange Model (NIEM)-conformant XML format. New modalities (DNA and plantars) were added 

as new record types. The extended feature set was added to Record Type 9; Record Type 10 was 

extended to include all body part images and to include anthropomorphic image markups; and 

compact iris image storage formats were introduced. There were substantial metadata upgrades as 
2

well, including geographic location, data handling logs, original source and associated reference data. 

Information assurance capabilities were added as Record Type-98.

An initial version of an associated conformance testing methodology (CTM) for AN-2011 was 

developed by the NIST/ITL CTM Working Group. This Working Group was established by 

NIST/ITL and is chaired by NIST/ITL staff. The group is made up of NIST experts as well as experts 

from other US Government agencies and industry. The initial release of this document is NIST 

Special Publication 500-295, “Conformance Testing Methodology for ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011, Data 

Format for the Interchange of Fingerprint, Facial & Other Biometric Information (Release 1.0)” [3]. 

NIST SP 500-295 specifies over twelve hundred test assertions for the following sections and Record 

Types of the AN-2011 standard: 

Section 5: Data Conventions 

Section 7: Information Associated with Several Record Types 

Section 8.1 Record Type-1: Transaction information record 

Section 8.4 Record Type-4: Grayscale fingerprint image 

Section 8.10 Record Type-10: Facial, other body part and Scar, Mark, and Tattoo (SMT)

image record 

Section 8.13 Record Type-13: Friction-ridge latent image record 

Section 8.14 Record Type-14: Fingerprint image record 

Section 8.15 Record Type-15: Palm print image record 

Section 8.17 Record Type-17: Iris image record

Annex B: Traditional Encoding

1.2 Need for Conformance Testing to Biometric Standards

The existence of biometric standards alone is not enough to demonstrate that products meet the 

technical requirements specified in the standards. Conformance testing captures the technical 

description of a specification and measures whether an implementation faithfully implements the 

specification. Conformance testing provides developers, users, and purchasers with increased levels 

of confidence in product quality and increases the probability of successful interoperability.

Although no conformance test can be comprehensive enough to test all the different combinations of 

mandatory requirements of a standard and all possible combinations of conditional and optional 

characteristics that could be included in the standards, a well-designed conformance test tool that 

faithfully implements a standard conformance testing methodology could raise the level of 

confidence on the test results. Therefore, a set of implementations tested with such a tool (and 

reported to be conformant to the standard), will be more likely to conform to the standard. 

The Computer Security Division (CSD) of NIST/ITL supports the development of biometric 

conformance testing methodology standards and other conformity assessment efforts through active 

technical participation in the development of biometric standards and associated conformance test 

architectures and test suites. NIST/ITL CSD develops these test tools to support users that require 

conformance to selected biometric standards and product developers interested in conforming to 

biometric standards by using the same testing tools available to users. Testing laboratories can also 

benefit from the use of these test tools. These efforts support the possible establishment of 

conformity assessment programs to validate conformance to biometric standards. 
3

1.3 BioCTS 2012 Release

As shown below, BioCTS 2012 includes two architectures: 

BioCTS 2012 for AN-2011

BioCTS 2012 for ISO/IEC 

The BioCTS 2012 software was released in August 2012. Installer versions of these test tools, sample 

data (“pass”/”fail” implementations), and associated documents are available for download at:

http://www.nist.gov/itl/csd/biometrics/biocta_download.cfm.

The release includes the Installer versions of the test tools listed in Sec. 1.3.1 to Sec. 1.3.3.

1.3.1 BioCTS 2012 for ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 (AN-2011)

BioCTS 2012 for AN-2011 is a Conformance test architecture and test suite designed to test AN2011 transactions. Conformance testing is performed for the test assertions documented in NIST 

SP 500-295, which specifies over twelve hundred test assertions for the following sections and 

Record Types of the AN-2011 standard:

Section 5: Data Conventions 

Section 7: Information Associated with Several Record Types 

Section 8.1 Record Type-1: Transaction information record 

Section 8.4 Record Type-4: Grayscale fingerprint image 

Section 8.10 Record Type-10: Facial, other body part and Scar, Mark, and Tattoo (SMT)

image record 

Section 8.13 Record Type-13: Friction-ridge latent image record 

Section 8.14 Record Type-14: Fingerprint image record 

Section 8.15 Record Type-15: Palm print image record 

Section 8.17 Record Type-17: Iris image record

Annex B: Traditional Encoding

For transactions that include record types other than those listed above, the presence of the records is 

reported (including record length), but no conformance testing is performed.

1.3.2 BioCTS 2012 for ISO/IEC

BioCTS for ISO/IEC is a Conformance Test Architecture (CTA) that supports Conformance Test 

Suites (CTSs) designed to test implementations of ISO/IEC biometric data interchange format 

standards developed by JTC 1/SC 37 - Biometrics and selected PIV profiles (iris data format). The 

toolset includes CTSs designed to test implementations of:

ISO/IEC Biometric data interchange formats

Common Biometric Exchange Formats Framework (CBEFF) Biometric Information Records 

(BIR)

Individual components of the CBEFF BIR 

The following is a list of the available test tools and the relevant standards used in their development.

First Generation (1G) of ISO/IEC Data Interchange Formats 

ISO/IEC 19794-2: 2005
4

o ISO/IEC 19794-2:2005, Biometric data interchange formats – Part 2: Finger minutiae 

data

o ISO/IEC 19794-2:2005 TECHNICAL CORRIGENDUM 1

o ISO/IEC 29109-2:2010 Conformance testing methodology for biometric data 

interchange formats defined in ISO/IEC 19794 -- Part 2: Finger minutiae data

ISO/IEC 19794-4: 2005

o ISO/IEC 19794-4:2005, Biometric data interchange formats -- Part 4: Finger image 

data

o ISO/IEC 19794-4:2005 TECHNICAL CORRIGENDUM 1

o ISO/IEC 29109-4:2010, Conformance testing methodology for biometric data 

interchange formats defined in ISO/IEC 19794 -- Part 4: Finger image data

o ISO/IEC 29109-4:2010 TECHNICAL CORRIGENDUM 1

ISO/IEC 19794-5: 2005

o ISO/IEC 19794-5:2005, Biometric data interchange formats -- Part 5: Face image 

data

o ISO/IEC 19794-5:2005 TECHNICAL CORRIGENDUM 1

o ISO/IEC 19794-5:2005 TECHNICAL CORRIGENDUM 2

o ISO/IEC 29109-5:2012, Conformance testing methodology for biometric data 

interchange formats defined in ISO/IEC 19794 -- Part 5: Face image data

Second Generation (2G) of ISO/IEC Data Interchange Formats

ISO/IEC 19794-2: 2011

o ISO/IEC 19794-2:2011, Biometric data interchange formats -- Part 2: Finger minutiae 

data

o ISO/IEC 19794-2:2011 EDITORIAL CORRIGENDUM 1

o ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 37 N 4902 Text of 19794-2 3rd PDAM 1, Biometric data 

interchange formats – Part 2: Finger minutia data – Amendment 1: Conformance 

testing methodology

ISO/IEC 19794-4: 2011

o ISO/IEC 19794-4:2011, Biometric data interchange formats -- Part 4: Finger image 

data

o ISO/IEC 19794-4:2011 EDITORIAL CORRIGENDUM 1

o ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 37 N 4944 Text of 19794-4 DAM1, Biometric data interchange 

formats: Part4: Finger image data - Amendment1: Conformance testing methodology

ISO/IEC 19794-6: 2011

o ISO/IEC 19794-6:2011, Biometric data interchange formats -- Part 6: Iris image data

o ISO/IEC 19794-6:2011 EDITORIAL CORRIGENDUM 1

o ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 37 N 4881 Text of 19794-6 3rd PDAM 1, Biometric data

interchange formats - Part 6: Iris image data - Amendment 1: Conformance testing 

methodology

PIV Profile of ISO/IEC 19794-6:2011 (specified in NIST SP 800-76-2)1

CBEFF Header of the PIV 19794-6:2011 Profile 

o As defined in NIST SP 800-76-2 (Draft) Table 15 “Patron format PIV specification”

PIV Profile of ISO/IEC 19794-6: 2011 On-Card

 

1

Specified by the NIST SP 800-76-2 Patron Format PIV Specification, currently in draft form. BioCTS 2012 for 

ISO/IEC will be updated as NIST SP 800-76-2 progresses through final publication.
5

o In addition to the ISO/IEC 19794-6:2011 standard this CTS implements requirements 

specified in NIST SP 800-76-2 (Draft) “Table 11 – ISO/IEC 19794-6 profile for iris 

images stored on PIV Cards”

PIV Profile of ISO/IEC 19794-6: 2011 Off-Card

o In addition to the ISO/IEC 19794-6:2011 standard this CTS implements requirements 

specified in NIST SP 800-76-2 (Draft) “Table 12 – ISO/IEC 19794-6 profile for iris 

images stored outside PIV Cards”

CBEFF Opaque Security Block

o The Opaque SB CTS accepts any data passed to it. No standard was used to 

implement this. No conformance testing is performed.

The CTSs released under CTA Beta Implementation 2.0 in September of 2011 have been migrated to 

BioCTS 2012 and are no longer available. Those included CTSs designed to test implementations of 

selected 1G of ISO/IEC data interchange formats, 2G iris data interchange format 19794-6:2011and 

the PIV profiles of the ISO/IEC 19794-6:2011 standard,

A roadmap of test tool development depicting the test tools available as well as the tools under 

development or planned is included in Annex A.

1.3.3 Requirements to Install and run BioCTS 2012 

Both architectures of BioCTS 2012 and the associated conformance test suites are supported by

several Microsoft® Operating Systems:

Windows® XP TM Service Pack 3

Windows® Vista TM Service Pack 2

Windows® 7 TM Service Pack 1

BioCTS 2012 requires Microsoft® .NET 4.0 Framework, which can be downloaded from the 

Microsoft® Download Center [4].

1.3.4 Roadmaps of Conformance Test Tool Developments

Annex B discusses roadmaps of the development of conformance test tool designed to test 

implementations of a number of biometric data interchange formats. In addition to identifying the 

existing tools included in BioCTS 2012 for both ISO/IEC standards and ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011, 

plans for further tool developments are addressed. The plans for further development include a

revised version(s) of BioCTS 2012 for AN-2011 that provides tests for additional Record Types (e.g., 

DNA, Dental, Voice) and the NIEM-XML encoding; additional biometric data interchange formats 

developed by ISO/IEC Joint Technical Committee 1 Subcommittee 37 (JTC 1/SC 37) for both binary 

encoding and XML encoding; and test tools for additional PIV profiles of biometric data interchange 

standards specified in NIST Special Publication 800-76-2 (currently a draft publication) [5]. These 

roadmaps are depicted in Fig. B.1 to B.3. 
6

2 Standard Data Structures and BioCTS Design Philosophy

2.1 Data Structures Defined in the Standards

Sections 2.1.1 and 2.1.2 addresses the differences between the second generation of biometric data 

interchange formats developed by JTC 1/SC 37 (2G) and the ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 Transactions.

ISO/IEC 19794 “Information technology — Biometric data interchange formats” is one of a family 

of international standards being developed by ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 37 that support interoperability and 

data interchange among biometric applications and systems. The data interchange formats and 

containing structures found in JTC 1/SC 37 Biometric Data Interchange Records and ANSI/NISTITL 1-2011 Transactions are outlined below.

2.1.1 ISO/IEC 19794-x (2G) Biometric Data Interchange Formats

Figure 2-1 shows the Biometric Data Interchange Record (BDIR) defined in the ISO/IEC 19794-x

standards. The data structure of the second generation of biometric data interchange formats is 

comprised of:

Fields containing Data; 

A General Header containing Fields; and 

One or more Representations containing Fields.

The general header and the first representation are mandatory in the data format for each biometric 

modality. Additional representation data structures are optional (may be contained in the record or 

not). The General Header contains fields such as the format identifier, the version number, and the 

number of representations contained in the record. Representations are comprised of a representation 

header (distinct for each record format). The representation header contains mandatory fields such as 

capture date and time of the biometric sample contained in the representation and optional fields such 

the capture device identifier and quality field.
7

Figure 2-1: Structure of JTC 1/SC 37 Biometric Data Interchange Records (BDIRs)

2.1.2 ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 Transactions

Figure 2-2 below depicts the ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 Transaction structures, which are comprised 

of:

Transactions which contain Records

Records which contain Fields

Fields which may contain Subfields, Information Items, or data

Subfields which may contain one or more Information Items or data

Information Items which contain data

General Header

Representation 1

• Field 1

• Field 2

• Field 3

• .........

• .........

Representation 2

• Field 1

• Field 2

• Field 3

• .........

• .........

• Field 1

• Field 2

• Field 3

• .........

• .........
8

Figure 2-2: High-level Structure of an ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 Transaction

Figure 2.16 in Sec. 2.4.4 depicts the generic AN-2011 Field Structure.

Record Type-1 is required and shall always be the first record within the transaction. In addition to 

Record Type-1, the standard requires that there shall be at least one other record type included in the 

transaction. There may be multiple records in a transaction of each record type other than Type-1. A 

record is comprised of fields. Each field is assigned a number, a description, and a mnemonic (e.g., 

Field 10.020: Subject pose / POS). 

2.2 NIST/ITL BioCTS 2012 Design

The software developed for both architectures (BioCTS 2012 for ISO/IEC and BioCTS 2012 for AN2011) was developed in C# using the Microsoft® .NET 4.0 Framework. The programming paradigm 

chosen was Object-oriented programming (OOP) which uses objects (data structures consisting of 

data fields and methods together with their interactions) that are instances of classes (which contain 

definitions for creating instances of objects – referred to as class instances, class objects, instance 

objects or simply objects). A class defines constituent members which enable its instances (objects)

to have state and behavior. Classes were used to define each component in the BioCTS architecture.
9

Despite differences in their structure, the major design philosophy for both Conformance Test 

Architectures and their Conformance Test Suite(s) is the use of encapsulation and polymorphism. 

Generally, encapsulation is a term used to describe how access to objects’ data is restricted, and 

polymorphism allows different data types and objects to be treated uniformly in code using 

interfaces. Encapsulation was used in NIST/ITL BioCTS 2012 to bundle data with its testing 

methods and to restrict access to other components of the same level as much as possible. Since the 

components do not know about other components at the same level, they do not rely on them to 

function properly.

A Field contains

o Name

o Data

o Tests to Perform

o Results of Tests

A Record or Header (AN-2011)/Representation (JTC 1/SC 37) contains

o Name

o Fields it contains

o Tests to Perform

o Results of Tests

A Transaction (AN-2011)/BDIR (JTC 1/SC 37) contains

o Name

o Records or Header/Representations it contains

o Tests to Perform

o Results of Tests

Given two fields, F1 and F2 contained in the same record, F1 cannot access any of the contents of F2

and vice versa; however, the record that contains them can access the contents of both fields. The 

same can be said of two records contained within the same transaction. Neither record can access the 

contents of the other, but the transaction that contains the records can access the contents of both.

This independence among components allows immediate testing of the code rather than waiting on 

dependent modules to be completed.

Reference [3] “NIST Special Publication 500-295, Conformance Testing Methodology for 

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011, Data Format for the Interchange of Fingerprint, Facial & Other Biometric 

Information” defines three levels of conformance testing: Level 1 (L1), Level 2 (L2) and Level 3 

(L3). These three levels apply to both BioCTS 2012 for AN-2011 as well as BioCTS 2012 for 

ISO/IEC standards. 

The current version of BioCTS does not perform Level 3 conformance tests but it is designed to 

incorporate this level of testing at a later time. Every test in BioCTS 2012 returns a “Result”, which 

contains a Test Level, Test Message, Test Name, and an “eResult”. Figure 2-3 depicts the “Result” 

class. Some enumerated types such as “eLevel” and “eResult” were created to standardize these 

values throughout BioCTS. Parse-level tests defined by the “eLevel” enumerated type shown in Fig.

2-4 are performed before all other levels of testing. In addition to “Pass”/”Fail”, the test results 

provide “eResult” values ranging from “Ok” to “Critical Error”.
10

 

Figure 2 3: “Result” Class

Figure 2 4: “eLevel” and “eResult”
11

2.3 BioCTS 2012 for ISO/IEC standards and CBEFF BIRs

2.3.1 Data Structures and Parsing of Binary Files Specified by JTC 1/SC 37

The ISO/IEC 19794-x series of “1G” standards specifies binary 

encoding only. The Second Generation of these standards 

specifies both a binary format and an XML format in standards 

amendments. 

Unlike parsing binary files, parsing XML is well-defined and 

streamlined. Without set markers, or tags, parsing of binary 

format files relies on field length as defined in the standards. 

Thus, optional and variable-length fields present challenges 

during parsing.

BioCTS 2012 for ISO/IEC defines each Field as an individual 

class derived from the base Field class shown in Fig. 2-5. Each

field inherits from this base class, and is self-contained. 

For example, the “FormatIdentifier Field” Class is derived 

from the base Field class, but assigns values to the following:

• Its name is “Format Identifier”

• It is Field Number 1

• It has a Minimum Length of 4 bytes

• It has a Maximum Length of 4 bytes

• What Data (bytes) were parsed to it

• A list of Results

Figure 2 5: “Field” Class

However, FormatIdentifier Field does not have access to 

any of the other derived Fields. As was discussed in Sec. 

2.1.1, Fields are the simplest building blocks of the 

ISO/IEC data interchange formats, which are then 

grouped together into sections to define General Headers 

or Representations. BioCTS 2012 for ISO/IEC has been 

designed to mimic the structure of the ISO/IEC standards 

when possible. For example, it has a Data Structure for 

the General Headers and Representations. Figure 2-6

depicts the Header class. A Header class has the ability to 

run tests as well; however, Level-2 tests that involve only 

the fields within a Header are rare.

The ISO/IEC biometric data interchange formats 

standards specify that the Biometric Information Data 

Record can contain multiple Views/Representations. A 

Representation has specific information about the 

biometric sample that was captured. It is made up of 

multiple Fields, collected in a List.

Figure 2 6: “Header” Class
12

The Representation class shown in Fig. 2-7, has the 

ability to perform Level-2 tests from its Test 

method and can perform any Level-2 test that 

requires only Fields from that Representation (e.g., 

comparing the Image’s internal width/height vs. the 

representation’s specified width/height).

Figure 2 7: “Representation” Class

Some of the ISO/IEC standards specify that a 

Representation has Extended Data to

accommodate annotations or vendor specific 

information. BioCTS 2012 has an optional area to 

parse Fields within an Extended Data area.

Extended Data areas are very similar to 

Representations and Headers, in that they have a 

collection of Fields and a Test() method.

 Figure 2 8: “Data Format” Class

The DataFormat class, depicted in Fig. 2-8, is the main class for a Conformance Test Suite (CTS). 

The ISO/IEC data interchange format standards specify that there is one Header and multiple 

Representations, and this is reflected in the DataFormat class. There is a single Header 

(GeneralHeader), and a List<Representation> (list of Representations). Since the DataFormat class 

shown in Fig. 2-8 is the main class for a CTS, its Parse method is the first method called when testing 

an implementation, as shown in the pseudo code below.

When a DataFormat Parse() method is called, it parses the entire file incrementally. Pseudo code for 

“DataFormat Parse”, “Header Parse” and “Representation” Methods are shown below.

File Passed to a CTS

Byte[] dataFromFile = ReadFile(FilePath);

CTS dataFormat = new CTS(dataFromFile);

dataFormat.Parse();

DataFormat Parse()

// First Parse the Header
13

Header Parse Method

// The Following are Fields

Fields.Add(FormatIdentifier(data));

Fields.Add(VersionNumber(data));

...

Representation Parse Method

// The Following are Fields

Fields.Add(RepresentationLength(data));

Fields.Add(CaptureDateTime(data));

...

The challenge of parsing binary files can be minimized through careful software design, but not 

completely mitigated. For example, given a field length of 4 bytes and the hexadecimal value 0x46 

49 52 00 30 33 30 00 00 00 97 00, the first three fields would appear as:

0x46 49 52 00 (Format Identifier)

0x30 33 30 00 (Version Number)

0x00 00 97 00 (Record Length - incorrect: should be 0x00 00 00 97)

In this case there is a missing byte before the value “97”. This error is not discovered during parsing, 

but rather during testing – when the Record Length specified does not match the Number of Bytes 

Read (a Level 2 test).

Each of the class types defined thus far contain a Test() method. BioCTS takes a top down approach

to testing, similar to that of its parsing. Starting with the DataFormat class, each class’s Test() 

method calls the test methods of its containing elements as shown below:

DataFormat Test Method

GeneralHeader.Test();

Foreach(Representation in Representations)

{

 Representation.Test();

}

// Any Additional Record-Wide Level 2 tests are called here

General Header Test Method

Foreach(Field in Fields)

{

 Field.Test();

}

// Any additional Header-Wide Level 2 tests are called here

GeneralHeader.Parse()

// Then Parse each Representation in Turn

for(int i = 0; i < NumberOfRepresentationsExpected; i++)

{

 Representations.Add(new Representation(data));

}
14

Representation Test Method

Foreach(Field in Fields)

{

 Field.Test();

}

// Any additional Representation-Wide Level 2 tests are called here

Field Test Method

// Level 1 Tests Here

ValueTest();

LengthTest();

2.3.2 Biometric Information Records

Figure 2-9 depicts the CBEFF structure and its three elements: (a) a Standard Biometric Header 

(SBH); (b) the Biometric Data Block (BDB) which contains the biometric data (independently of the 

biometric modality); and (c) an optional Security Block (SB). This CBEFF structure is called a 

Biometric Information Record or BIR.

Figure 2 9: CBEFF Structure and Elements

“BIR” is a superstructure within BioCTS 2012 that contains the following classes, shown in Fig. 2-

10:

BIR class

Patron Format class

Data Format

Security Format class

Header (SBH) Biometric Data Block (BDB) Security Block (SB)
15

Figure 2 10: “BIR, PatronFormat”, “DataFormat”, and “SecurityFormat” Classes

BioCTS 2012 for ISO/IEC uses a modular architecture represented in Fig. 2-11 allowing the user to 

select each portion of the architecture. The software will automatically parse and test what is 

specified.
16

 

Figure 2-11: BioCTS 2012 for ISO/IEC High-Level Architecture

2.4 BioCTS 2012 for AN-2011 - Testing of AN-2011 High-Level Architecture

2.4.1 Data Structures and Class Diagrams of BioCTS 2012 for AN-2011

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 Transactions are more complex than the ISO/IEC data interchange formats

because they include Records for a number of modalities, field structures made up of various 

combinations of subfields and information items, and a combination of binary and tagged Records. 

BioCTS 2012 for AN-2011 treats the Information Item as the smallest portion of Data of an AN2011 transaction. An Information Item may access only its own content and not that of any other 

structure. An Information Item has the ability to test itself, using its Test() method. “Field”, 

“Subfield”, “InformationItem”, and “BinarySubfiled” classes used in BioCTS for AN-2011 are 

depicted in Fig. 2-12 and 2-13. Tests are generally performed on data contained in Information Items. 

A Subfield contains one or more Information Items, but does not contain data. Therefore, Subfields 

GUI

XML 

Report

Controller

 Implementation

Test 

Report

BIR Processing
17

do not have the ability to perform tests. A Field is a collection of Subfields, and therefore, the Field 

class is able to test the Subfields held within it.

Figure 2 12: “Field” and “Subfield” Classes

Figure 2 13: “InformastionItem” and “BinarySubField” Classes
18

A Record is made up of Fields, and every Record inherits from a base Record class. As shown in Fig. 

2-14 Binary Records, such as Types 4, 7 and 8 inherit from a Subclass of Record – the BinaryRecord 

class.

Figure 2-14: “Record” Class and Inheritance

2.4.2 Parsing

2.4.2.1 Pre-Parse

Two major operations occur during Pre-Parsing: (a) determining if the File Path passed into the 

software exists (e.g. a valid file), and (b) creating a Table of Contents (TOC) for the Transaction (by 

parsing of fields 1.001 to 1.003). 

Field 1.001 is the length of the Type-1 Record and Field 1.003 describes the other record types 

within the transaction. After getting these two bits of information, the Pre-Parser skips to each 

record’s first field to record their length. The end result is a TOC where each entry has a Record 

Type Number, IDC Value, and Record Length (in bytes).
19

After these two operations are completed, a test to ensure that the summation of Table of Contents’ 

length values is equal to the total number of bytes in the file is performed. The pseudo-code below 

describes the Pre-Parse program flow.

Pre-Parse Program Flow

Parse Field 1.001

Parse Field 1.002

Parse Filed 1.003

Use Field 1.003 to create a TableOfContents containing TableItems(Record Type Number, IDC Value)

Update Table Value for the First Record with the value from Field 1.001

Skip to the next Record Length field to update the TableItems with each Record’s Length

Perform Test: Summation of Table Lengths == Total Number of Bytes in File

2.4.2.2 Parse Fields and Records

After Pre-Parsing is complete, the types and lengths of all Records in the Transaction are known. The 

Transaction data is split according to each Record’s specified length, creating a list of records 

(List<Record>). Each Record is passed a portion of the Transaction’s bytes, which it uses to 

create a list of fields (List<Field>). Each Field has a list of Subfields (List<Subfield>), 

and each Subfield has a list of Information Items (List<InformationItem>). The following 

pseudo-code describes this program flow.

Note: Every field is parsed as having subfields with information items, even fields that ANSI/NISTITL 1-2011 specifies as having no subfields and fields that ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 specifies as 

having subfields which contain no information items. This intentional change was made for parsing 

consistency and because of the observation that there is no difference in encoding between a field 

with one subfield or information item and a field containing simply data.

Parse Fields and Records Program Flow

Foreach(TableItem in TableOfContents)

{

 Create a new Record of TableItem.Record Type Number

 

 Pass the new Record a portion of the File’s Data based on

 TableItem.Length

 Call Record.Parse() to refine the Record data into Fields

 

 Add this Record to the Transaction.List<Record>

}

2.4.3 Testing

Testing can begin only after parsing is successfully completed. Testing is performed in isolation 

when possible following this approach:

Transaction-Level Testing: Needs information from more than one Record
20

Record-Level Testing: Needs information from more than one Field within the same 

Record

Field-Level Testing: Needs no more information than what is stored within a single Field

2.4.3.1 Transaction-Level Testing - (AN2K11.Test())

This method performs two operations:

Loop over the Transaction’s list of Records calling Record.Test() on each in turn.

Transaction-based Level-2 testing requires information from more than one Record.

Transaction.Test Program Flow

Foreach(Record in Transaction.List<Record>)

{

 Call Record.Test()

}

Perform Transaction Based Level 2 Tests

2.4.3.2 Record-Level Testing - (Record.Test())

This method performs two operations:

Loop over the Record’s list of Fields calling Field.Test() on each in turn.

Record-based Level-2 testing requires information from more than one Field within the 

Record.

Record.Test Program Flow

Foreach(Field in Record.List<Field>)

{

 Call Field.Test()

}

Perform Record Based Level 2 Tests

2.4.3.3 Field-Level Testing - (Field.Test())

This method performs Level-1 testing on the Field’s Subfields and Information Items, ensuring 

correct count number, lengths, and value tests, etc. where applicable.

Field.Test Program Flow

Perform Subfield and Information Count Tests

Perform Character Encoding Tests

Perform Value Tests

Perform Any other Level 1 test necessary

The BioCTS 2012 for AN-2011 High-Level Architecture depicting Pre-Parsing, Parsing, and Testing 

operations is shown in Fig. 2-15. The operations described above from Pre-parsing to Field-level 

testing are depicted. The test results are provided in two formats: text format and XML to facilitate 

automated analysis of test results when a large number of transactions are tested. 
21

Figure 2 15: BioCTS 2012 for AN-2011 High-Level Architecture

GUI

XML 

Report

Controller

 Transaction(s)

Test 

Report

Conformance Test Suite
22

2.4.4 Clarifying AN-2011 Field Structure Definitions

The following Field structures are contained in ANSI/NIST ITL 1-2011, but a formal definition 

(including the underlying subfield and information item organization) is not provided:

Single Info Item

o Shown in tables as a Field containing data

Multiple Info Items

o Shown in tables as a Field containing multiple Info Items

Subfields: Repeating Sets of Info Items

o Shown in tables as a Field containing one or more Subfields which each contain 

multiple information items

Subfields Repeating Values

o “Shown in tables as a Field containing Subfields which contain data”

The difficulty in parsing and defining the Subfield and Information Items structures comes from the 

following observation:

It is impossible to differentiate between a single subfield, a single information item, and a single 

piece of data in the Traditional Encoding defined in Annex B of AN-2011. 

Information Items are defined as the information separated by the ASCII Unit Separator character 

(

U

S). The number of Information Items present (Nii) equals the number of US separators present (Nus) 

plus one: Nii = Nus + 1. Therefore, when there is a single Information Item present, there are no Unit 

Separators present (Nus = 0). Similarly, the number of Subfields present (Nsf) equals the number of 

ASCII Record Separator characters (R

S) present (Nrs) plus one: Nsf = Nrs + 1. Therefore, when there 

is a single Subfield present, there are no Record Separators present (Nrs = 0). Because there are no 

separators present in these cases, there is no difference between single instances of Subfields, 

Information Items, and data. The G

S character is used to identify the end of a field except when that 

field is the last field in the record; in this case the F

S character is used. 

To simplify parsing, and to be able to treat every field the same, BioCTS 2012 AN-2011 defines 

every field as having a list of subfields with each subfield containing a list of information items. 

The program flow describing Tagged Field parsing in shown below:

Parsing of a Tagged Field Program Flow

Parse Record Type Number

Parse Period

Parse Field Number

Parse Colon

Loop While Data Can be Parsed

{

 If (Current_Byte Equals U

S, 

R

S, 

G

S, or FS character)

 {

 Create an InformationItem With Current_Contents

 Add InformationItem to List<Element>

 }

 If (Current_Byte Equals U

S character)

 {

 // No longer need bytes for Information item. Info Item was created above and added to 

list

 Clear Current_Contents

 }
23

 Else If (Current_Byte Equals R

S character)

 {

 Create a Subfield with all values in List<Element>

 Add Subfield to List<Subfield>

 // Since we no longer need the Information Item, or Element List since we have made a 

subfield

 Clear Current_Contents

 Clear List<Element>

 Clear Subfield

 }

 Else If (Current_Byte Equals G

S, or FS character)

 {

 Create a Subfield with all values in List<Element>

 Add Subfield to List<Subfield>

 // This is the end of a field, exit the loop

 Break out from Loop

 }

 If (Current_Byte Does not Equal U

S and Does not Equal RS)

 {

 Add Current_Byte to Current_Contents

 }

 Current_Byte = Next Byte in File

}

Add All values from List<Subfield> to the Field

Return the Field

Table 2-1 compares how the field structure is specified in the standard and how it is defined in the 

code. In general, the standard does not mention Subfields or Information Items (although they exist) 

when there is only one instance. The following nomenclature is used in the table: 

FN: Field Number, including record type. 

II: Information Item. A single piece of information (data). 

SF: Subfield. A set of one or more information items. (when more than one set is present)

Description Field Structure in Standard Field Structure In Code

Single Information 

Item

(A Field with Data)

FN: IIG

S

Note: the standard does not mention a subfield or 

information item for this structure, but simply refers to 

the “field” and its “data”.

Field contains one subfield that 

contains one information item.

Data testing results reported at the 

field level because it is viewed as a 

field with data.

Multiple Information 

Items

(A Field with 

multiple Information 

Items)

FN: IIa

U

S...IIn

G

S

Where n is the number of information items

Note: the standard does not mention a subfield, just 

information items. 

Field contains one subfield that 

contains multiple information 

items.

Data testing results reported at the 

information item level because it is 

viewed as a field that contains 

several information items.

Subfields: 

Repeating Sets Of 

Information Items

If subfield count > 1:

FN: II1a

U

S ... II1j 

R

S IIna

U

S ... IInk 

G

S

Where n is the number of subfields

If subfield count = 1:

FN: IIa

U

S ... IIj 

G

S

Field contains one or more 

subfields and each subfield contains

multiple information items.

Data testing results reported at the 
24

information item level because 

each subfield contains several 

information items.

Subfields: 

Repeating Values

If subfield count > 1:

FN: IIa

R

S ... IIn 

G

S

Where n is the number of subfields

If subfield count = 1:

FN: IIa

G

S

Field contains one or more 

subfields and each subfield contains 

one information item.

Data testing results reported at the 

subfield level because each subfield 

contains a single information item.

Table 2-1: Comparison of the Field Structure in the Standard and the Code 

As stated previously, it is impossible to differentiate between a single subfield, a single information 

item, and a single piece of data in the Traditional Encoding defined in Annex B of AN-2011. 

Examples are shown below:

Field contents Actual encoding

Data only XX.YYY:<DATA>G

S

A single subfield XX.YYY:<DATA>G

S

A single subfield containing a single 

information item

XX.YYY:<DATA>G

S

Therefore, as shown in Fig.2-16, in BioCTS every field contains a list of subfields, which each 

contain a list of information items.

Figure 2.16: Generic AN-2011 Field Structure

The data for each field is held in the Information Item. However, results of tests can be stored at any 

level (Information Item, Subfield, Field, Record, and Transaction) as needed to align with the

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 field definitions.

For example, a field defined with no subfields:

Underlying structure: 1.002:0500G

S (FN: IIGS )

Field 1.002 is represented in the software internally as shown in Fig. 2-17:

Field

Record 

Type

Field Subfield(s)

Number Information Item(s)

.

:

G

S
25

Figure 2.17: AN-2011 Field Structure Example

Field 1.002 is displayed in the CTA as:

This matches the ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 Field definition (note that it does not mention the Subfield 

or Information Item).

2.4.5 BioCTS 2012 for AN-2011 Testing Exceptions 

Any tests implemented in code that differ from the requirements defined in the ANSI/NIST ITL2011, or any requirements untested are considered “exceptions”. The CTS contains two types of test 

assertion exceptions: Record-Type Limitations and Requirement Limitations. 

2.4.5.1 Record Type Limitations

The CTS provides parsing and IDC support for all Record Types in a given transaction and also tests 

for any deprecated or legacy values. However, only a selected subset of Record Types is fully 

supported and tested by the CTS:

Type-1: Transaction Information

Type-4: High-resolution grayscale fingerprint image

Type-10: Face, other body part, or scar, mark tattoo (SMT) image

Type-13: Variable-resolution latent friction ridge image

Type-14: Variable-resolution fingerprint image

Type-15: Variable-resolution palm print image

Type-17: Iris image

Records in any Transaction that include Record Types other than the ones listed above are detected 

and their presence (including the location within the transaction) and length are reported in the test 

results.

In addition, some fields are supported for all Record Types due to structural requirements and interfield dependencies:

Field xx.001-Record header. (All Record Types)

Field xx.002-Information designation character / IDC (All Record Types)

Field xx.016-Segments / SEG (Record Types 20 and 21)

Field

1

Subfield

002 0500

.

:

G

S
26

Field xx.021-SRN/ACN (Record Types 20 and 21)

Field xx.995-Associated Context / ASC (Record Types 10 and Above)

Field xx.997-Source Representation / SOR (Record Types 10 and Above)

2.4.5.2 Requirement Limitations:

In some cases, testing a requirement was not possible without additional resources or information 

that was not obtained in time for inclusion in this version of the CTS:

Domain Names/ Application Profile Specifications: requires referencing of evolving registrar 

databases. See ANSI/NIST ITL-2011 Sec. 5.3.2 and Sec. 6.

Alternate Character Sets: Further research is required. Support for “user-defined” character 

set is not feasible. See ANSI/NIST ITL-2011 Sec. 5.6.

Alternate Coordinate System: Further research required. Support for “user-defined” systems 

is not feasible. See ANSI/NIST ITL-2011 Sec. 7.7.3.

Subject Acquisition Profiles: Some SAP/FAP/IAP level contain Level 3 requirements (image 

capture conditions). See ANSI/NIST ITL-2011 Sec. 7.7.5.

ASEG-Open and Closed Paths for Polygons: Further research required. See ANSI/NIST ITL2011 Sec. 7.8. 
27

3 References

The list below provides references for this publication.

[1] ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 37 Web page http://www.iso.org/iso/jtc1_sc37_home (accessed 8/20/12).

[2] ANSI/NIST-ITL Standard Web page http://www.nist.gov/itl/iad/ig/ansi_standard.cfm (accessed 

8/20/12).

[3] F. L. Podio, D. Yaga, and C. J. McGinnis, Editors, NIST Special Publication 500-295, 

Conformance Testing Methodology for ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011, Data Format for the 

Interchange of Fingerprint, Facial & Other Biometric Information (2012).

[4] Microsoft® Download Center web page http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/default.aspx

(accessed 8/27/12).

[5] P. Grother and W. Salamon, NIST Special Publication 800-76-2, Second Draft Biometric Data 

Specification for Personal Identity Verification, June 2012.
28

Annex A – Roadmaps of Biometric Data Interchange Formats and Conformance Testing Methodologies

A.1 First Generation of ISO/IEC Data Interchange Format Standards

Figure A-1 depicts the first generation (1G) of biometric data interchange formats developed by ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 37-Biometrics for a 

number of biometric modalities and their associated conformance testing methodology standards. The publication date of each of the 

standards is included. The development stage is indicated for the standards not yet published. The biometric standards of the first generation 

were specified in binary encoding as shown in the picture. 

Figure A.1: 1G Biometric Data Formats and Associated CTMs
29

A.2 Second Generation of ISO/IEC Data Interchange Format Standards

Figure A-2 depicts the same information as Figure A-1 but for the second generation (2G) of biometric data interchange format standards 

and associated CTM standards. Although the first generation of CTM standards are separate documents, the associated CTMs for the 2G 

data interchange formats are developed as Amendments to the data interchange format standards. A shown in the figure, most of the data 

interchange formats specified in binary encoding has been published. The Subcommittee is also developing XML encoding versions for a 

number of these standards.

Figure A.2: 2G Biometric Data Formats and Associated CTMs
30

Annex B – Roadmaps of Conformance Test Tools for Biometric Data Interchange Formats

B.1 CTSs Designed to Test Implementations of AN-2011 Transactions

Figure B.1 depicts the current roadmap of conformance tool development for AN-2011 Transactions. Plans are underway to expand the 

development of BioCTS 2012 to include testing of other Record Types. Currently, the test architecture supports testing of Transactions 

specified in Traditional Encoding. The roadmap includes extending the work to accommodate required testing of Transactions in the 

National Information Exchange Model (NIEM)-XML Encoding. 

Figure B.1: Roadmap of CTSs for AN-2011 Transactions
31

B.2 CTSs Designed to Test Implementations of ISO/IEC Data Interchange Formats

Figure B.2 depicts the current roadmap for conformance test tools development for the ISO/IEC 19794-x biometric data interchange 

standards. CTSs designed to test implementations of the first generation of data formats were migrated this year to run under the advance 

conformance test architecture that is part of BioCTS 2012. Existing CTSs test binary encoding implementations. Further work will be 

focused on developing CTSs to test implementations of data formats for other modalities encoded in both binary and XML.

Figure B.2: Roadmap of CTSs for ISO/IEC Data Interchange Formats
32

B.3 CTS Designed to Test Implementations of PIV profiles specified in NIST SP 800-76-2 

Second Draft NIST Special Publication 800-76-2 was open for public comment until Noon on 4 August 15, 2012. Two CTSs were 

developed to test implementations of the ISO/IEC 19794-6:2011 profile. Additional CTSs are planned which will be designed to test 

implementations of national standards published by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and developed by Technical 

Committee M1 – Biometrics of the InterNational Committee for Information Technology Standards (INCITS). These profiles are also 

specified in NIST SP 800-76-2. Changes to the existing CTS will be made if technical changes to the ISO/IEC 19794-6:2001 profiles are 

made as a result of the public review.

Figure B.3: Roadmap of CTSs for PIV Profiles Defined in NIST SP 800-76-2