Software Engineering

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CHAPTER 15 
Software Verification and Validation Practice
V&V tasks should be performed by a team of senior software personnel lead 
by a member of the software engineering team. This V&V team must be staffed by 
knowledgeable, experienced individuals since they are responsible for ensuring the 
completeness and accuracy of the primary architectural artifacts.
15.1.2 
Establish V&V methods
For each V&V task the methods of conducting the assessment must be identified. 
Verification is intended to establish the accuracy and thoroughness of the archi-
tectural design. Validation is intended to confirm the software product exhibits the 
proper operational transactions, features, and quality characteristics. There are a 
variety of techniques that can be applied to V&V tasks that fall into four categories 
of V&V methods:
1. 
Documentation evaluation
. A technical evaluation of architectural diagrams, 
drawings, and specifications to achieve V&V objectives.
2. 
Peer review
. A technical appraisal of the fitness of an architectural element by 
competent colleagues to achieve V &V objectives.
3. 
Static analysis
. The application of mathematical or scientific estimation of soft-
ware behaviors, performance, resource utilization, etc., to evaluate the achieve-
ment of V&V objectives.
4. 
Dynamic analysis
. The employment of computed statistical measures to quan-
tify the expected levels of performance, resource utilization, and data processing 
effectiveness to evaluate the achievement of V&V objectives.