Most certification schemes are composed of Credits that are subject to Credit Criteria, which are a set of tests, rules, and constraints that must be met before points will be awarded by the final certification authority.
The Credit Criteria may expressed as text requirements, or in combination with tables of information and data expressing the criteria. The criteria may also involve calculations that are to be performed in tools provided by the certification authority or by compatible 3rd-party tools (such as GreenDesk from GreenSoft).
In GreenDesk, the Credit Criteria are encapsulated as Expert System Tests, and all project model data (stored in the Project Model Database) is subjected to the tests whenever it is served to users in worksheets, so users can discover exactly where they have earned or lost potential credit points.
The Credit Criteria are usually supplemented by Compliance Document requirements.