Verification & Validation: Build the right product/service/system in the right way

Verification and Validation methods are used to ensure that a product, service, or system meets requirements and specifications and that it fulfills its intended purpose. V&V are critical to a quality management system (such as ISO 9000). The Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK) defines them thusly:

• “Validation: The assurance that a product, service or system meets the needs of the customer and other identified stakeholders. It often involves acceptance and suitability with external customers.”

• “Verification: The evaluation of whether or not a product, service, or system complies with a regulation, requirement, specification, or imposed condition. This is often an internal process.”

Are you building the right product/service/system?

Validation checks whether the product/service/system meets the operational needs of the user. For new products, this could involve modeling the product workflows and using simulations to predict gaps or issues.

Are you building the product/service/system right?

Verification checks whether the product/service/system meets a set of design specs. In the development phase, this involves performing tests to model or simulate a portion or the entirety of the product/service/system, then performing a review or analysis of the modeling results. In post-development, it involves repeating tests to ensure that the product/service/system continue to meet the design specs, regulations, and requirements.