Examination Techniques5: Validation and Verification

Examination Techniques5: Validation and Verification
The constant and never ending challenge to ensure examination tools meets the requirements when used with or applied to the DUT (device under test) naturally generates constantly evolving polices, practices and procedures. The 'digitally-evolving' and 'technology-fast development' age has brought with it an inability to keep policies, practices and procedures up-to-date. That includes the tools and techniques that maybe used or applied.

Examiners may find it helpful when dealing with Validation and Verification:

- To validate is to assess doing the right things,
- To verify is to evaluate doing things right.

As always, Wikipedia has interesting articles and prompts that can help start researching points:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verification_and_validation

However, a word of caution and a useful philosophical approach to remember, born out of having previously had experience and worked in QA, factory assessment/evaluation pre-approval and technology assessment. When considering Validation and Verification they hold the same unlying warning as that attributed to Galileo, who said "the Bible shows the way to go to heaven, not the way the heavens go". Thus agreeing that validation is being performed does not necessarily mean verification will automatically support that claim.