Verification and validation
Verification checks whether a system meets specified requirements; validation checks whether it fulfills its intended purpose in its intended context.
Software testing: The execution or analysis of software to detect defects and assess whether it behaves as required. Testing supplies evidence for both verification and validation, but does not by itself define either process.
Requirements traceability: The documented links between requirements and related design, implementation, and test artifacts. Traceability shows whether each requirement has corresponding verification evidence.
System requirements specification: A document describing required system functions, performance, interfaces, and constraints. It provides the principal reference against which system conformance is verified.
Software development life cycle: The sequence of activities used to develop, deploy, maintain, and retire software. Verification and validation recur across development stages rather than forming a single final test.
Quality assurance: Planned activities that provide confidence a product or service will meet quality requirements. Verification and validation are quality activities within a broader system of process assurance.
Test case: A defined set of inputs, conditions, and expected results used to assess a system. Test cases turn requirements or user scenarios into repeatable checks.
Stakeholder analysis: Identification and examination of people or organizations affected by a system and their interests. Stakeholder needs inform whether specified requirements reflect the system's intended use.
V-model: A systems-development model pairing specification and design stages with corresponding test levels. Its structure explicitly connects requirements and design decisions to planned verification and validation.
Acceptance testing: Testing that determines whether a system satisfies acceptance criteria for delivery or use. It often provides direct evidence that a system meets user-facing acceptance needs.
Simulation: The imitation of a system's behavior over time using a model. Simulation examines behavior across conditions that may be costly or unsafe to test directly.