GreenDart Inc. Team Blog

Requirements Verification & Validation

During the requirements phase the developer generates program requirements needed to support development. The developer also traces these requirements to their parent Customer system requirements. Verification & Validation assesses developer artifacts generated during this phase. The V&V team may analyze the Customer/developer project documents, requirements, traceability data, the Software/System Requirements Specifications, the Interface Requirements Specifications, and Interface Control Documents for interfacing to external and internal systems.

V&V of the developer's requirements ensures that the design phase is working from a mature base of requirements and satisfies the users' needs. Furthermore, these tasks also ensure that the requirements are testable and traceable.

If developers define their test approach, testing plans and test data during the requirements phase, then the developer's test planning effort is also reviewed by the IV&V team during the requirements phase. 

Interestingly, developer errors found in this phase of the effort by V&V have the greatest positive impact on total system development costs. So, requirements V&V is a significantly critical step in the overall V&V process and has the potential to deliver the best return on the V&V investment.

 Reducing Software Cost Through Verification and Validation

Many programs risk cost growth and schedule delays because of software development issues. Collecting, tracking and containing software issues/defects in the development phase where they occur is an excellent cost-control management practice. Programs surveyed indicated that an average of 31 percent of defects corrected were detected after the development phase in which they were inserted. Capturing software defects in phase is critical because detecting defects out of phase results in expensive program rework. The best mechanism for capturing defects in-phase, and thereby reducing software development cost is Verification and Validation (V&V). 

 V&V is an engineering technical discipline using proven techniques to detect defects in software and/or hardware and avoid risks in developmental programs. Independent V&V (IV&V) is V&V performed by an independent authority, which is managerially,  technically, and financially independent from the product developer. IV&V is the unbiased process of assessing system development performance against key technical, programmatic, and financial objectives ensuring the user needs are satisfied. Proper and most efficient V&V starts on or before the beginning of the product developer’s requirements phase. The purpose of  V&V is to help a product developer build quality into the product throughout its life-cycle phases: Requirements, Design, Development, Test, and post-delivery Sustainment. Additionally, a good V&V program benefits from the use of V&V Tools and the application of advanced V&V processes such as GreenDart’s Criticality Analysis and Risk Assessment (CARA). Finally, the V&V agent may also be responsible for Independent Testing of the pre-deployed system. We cover all these V&V efforts in our complete V&V discussion.

V&V includes V&V planning and re-planning as system development evolves. It includes the review of developers’ requirements definition, design analysis, unit code and testing, test planning and test results assessment, and conduct of independent V&V testing where appropriate.

IV&V plans are based on government direction and funding, the developer’s System Development Plan, the developers’ processes, and other development planning data.