Managing Software Requirements: A Unified Approach

Chapter 33. Using ROI to Determine the V&V Effort

Key Points

• Depth, the level of detail selected to verify a system element, may range from examination (minimal) to walkthrough and independent review to black-box testing (simulation) to white-box testing (exercising every line of code).

• Coverage refers to the extent to which system elements are verified and validated.

• Selective V&V is viable as long as you know why you are doing it and what the risks are.

• The key to using hazard analysis is to decide what errors must be prevented and the scope of the V&V activities needed to ensure that they do not occur.

As in all aspects of the development project, it costs money to initiate and maintain the V&V activities. The question naturally arises, "How do ...