Client CommunicationIf you outsource the development of customized software for your organization, who is watching out for your interests?
Development organizations are constrained by their own business considerations. They may attempt to reduce their costs or meet deadlines by cutting corners in ways that reduce the usability, reliability, or performance of the application they are designing for you.
This is where Independent Verification and Validation comes in.
Independent
An IV&V provider is a knowledgeable and engaged advocate working on your behalf throughout the development process, independent of any business considerations or internal politics of development organizations.
- Technical independence ensures that IV&V providers practice accepted Quality Assurance methodologies.
- Managerial independence allows IV&V providers to offer objective and timely reporting directly to your organization.
- Financial independence, in the form of a separate budget, ensures that IV&V effectiveness is not compromised.
Verification
Verifying that each step in the development process is complete and on track.
- Ensure each phase of development meets acceptance criteria for the next phase.
- Adhere to testing methodologies, provide timely test, status, and bug metric reports.
- Check that all critical problems are resolved before the final release.
Validation
Validating that the final product satisfies functional and other requirements as documented in original design specifications.
- Advocate usability for ultimate end-users.
- Track enhancements not just bug fixes.
- Ensure that the system performs to expectation under all operating conditions.
Software is critical to the effectiveness, competitiveness, and survival of your organization. Unexpected behavior or critical problems that bring your operations to a standstill are just not an option.
Independent Verification and Validation increases the probability that customized software will achieve:
- Design requirements
- Objectives within budget constraints
- Scheduled delivery dates
When integrated into the software development life cycle, IV&V can detect and identify risk elements throughout the entire software development process. This allows development and quality assurance managers to respond quickly in order to mitigate risks earlier in the product development life cycle, with more effectiveness, and with less impact on cost and schedule.
With so much riding on your enterprise software, the question is: “Can you afford not to have IV&V?“
Methodologies