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The introduction sorts the mechanisms into four groups by the arithmetic each party performs. Two groups carry the cost on the claimant, one puts it on the verifier, and one avoids a coupon altogether. The grouping is the fastest way to see which clause a system belongs to.

What it asks

Place every entity authentication mechanism in your estate into one of the four groups, and record the reason. A mechanism filed in the wrong group will be parameterised and tested against the wrong clause, which is the most common inventory error in this part.

What the revision does

The fourth edition keeps the four-group description and will restate it against the revised clause order. The public record does not disclose the revised wording. The 2009 wording is therefore superseded at publication.

Who it binds

The owner of the mechanism inventory and the architect who approves the mechanism set.

Evidence an auditor samples

• The mechanism inventory, with one group per row and the reason for the placement (architecture)
• The clause each mechanism is tested against (test plan)
• The review note that accepted the grouping (review log)

The test you can run

Pick a mechanism at random and ask which group it is in. If the answer is a product name rather than an arithmetic cost, the inventory is not grouped.

Common failures

• Mechanisms are grouped by vendor rather than by arithmetic cost.
• A system is filed in two groups because nobody decided which clause governs it.

How to close it

Group first, then parameterise. The group tells you whether the challenge size matters, whether a coupon is possible and which annex guidance applies, so an hour spent on the grouping saves a week of rework later. Start with the mechanism inventory, with one group per row and the reason for the placement and let the row close when it exists with a date and a named holder.

Where it sits against the 2009 edition

The 2009 edition carries Introduction, and the fourth edition replaces it. The public record does not give the new wording, so this page records the obligation that stands today and the question the revision has to answer.

For the file, this row closes when the mechanism inventory, with one group per row and the reason for the placement exists with a date, a named holder and a pointer, and when the test above has been run and recorded. The owner of the mechanism inventory and the architect who approves the mechanism set. owns that answer for Introduction.