Model-Based System Architecture

Appendix B

The V-Model

Today, the Systems Engineering Vee is omnipresent in almost every systems development environment. It has an iconic status. The V-Model, as the Systems Engineering Vee is also called, emphasizes a rather natural problem-solving approach. Starting on coarse grain level partitioning the problem to manageable chunks. From the fine grain level the final solution integrates up to the initial level. On each level, one can compare the solution or part of it with the problem or the related part of it. The simplicity of this model (see Figure B.1) permits various projections and results in many interpretations.

Figure B.1 A basic V-Model.

B.1 A Brief History of the V-Model or the Systems Engineering Vee

The V-Model emerged probably in the 1960s, though there seem to be no public citations available. The citations hereafter suggest that the V-Model emerged from more than one source independently. The designation of the model varies depending on the sources. Hereafter, we cite the designation as used in the referenced documents.

In 1979, Barry W. Boehm published a paper [15] that was built up on the Vee. He used the Vee in the context of software engineering to emphasize the importance of verification and validation. Boehm made a distinction between an upper part of the Vee for validation and a lower part of the Vee for verification and linked these processes ...