Software Engineering - Old Questions

10. What is verification and validation? Briefly explain verification and validation planning.

Verification is the process of evaluating the product during the development to find out whether they meet the specific requirements (functional and non-functional requirements).

Validation is the process of checking the product after development to determine whether software meets the customer expectations and requirements.

The ultimate goal of verification and validation process is to establish confidence that the software system is "fit for purpose".

Verification and Validation planning

Validation and verification  is an expensive process and more than the half the system development budget may be spend on validation and verification process. So, careful planning is needed for validation and verification (V & V).

Fig: Test plans as a link between development and testing

It breaks down system V & V into a number of stages. Each stage is driven by tests that have been defined to check the conformance of the program with its design and specification.

We should decide on the balance between static and dynamic approaches to V & V, draw up standards and procedures for software inspections and testing, establish checklists to drive program Inspections and define the software test plan. 

Test planning is concerned with establishing standards for the testing process. It helps managers to allocate resources and estimate testing schedules, test plans are intended for software engineers involved in designing and carrying out system tests. It helps technical staff get an overall picture of the system tests and place their own work in this context.