Software Engineering

15.3  Validate the physical architecture .................................................................... 272
15.3.1  Validate the structural configuration ............................................. 272
15.3.2  Validate the integrated software configuration ............................... 272
15.4  Document V&V results ..................................................................................... 273
The software verification and validation (V&V) practice confirms the consistency 
among elements of the software architecture. This implies the determination that the 
software design, as expressed by the architecture, has been properly formulated and 
configured to satisfy stakeholder needs. Software verification and validation practices 
are sometimes confused with testing and quality assurance. However, within the soft-
ware engineering discipline, V&V involve assessments of the software architecture 
to determine its fitness to transition to the software implementation stage of develop-
ment. The software architecture must be continually verified to be internally consist-
ent and validated against stakeholder needs. V&V must substantiate that the software 
design will fulfill its intended purpose and, consequently, justifies further investment 
in the development project. 
Figure 15.1
 demonstrates how software engineering V&V 
confirmations contribute to negotiating the preliminary design review (PDR), critical 
design review (CDR) and test readiness review (TRR) milestones.
Verification
 ensures that each element of the architecture is consistent with the 
preceding element from which it was conceived. In the case of software require-
ments, verification ensures that the software baseline was properly derived from 
authenticated stakeholder needs. Verification provides an incremental assessment of 
the adequacy of the software architecture to fulfill stakeholder needs and project 

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