Validation (glossary)
(1a) Confirmation, through the provision of objective evidence, that the (stakeholder) requirements for a specific intended use or application have been fulfilled. (ISO/IEC 2008, Section 4.37)
(1b) The set of activities ensuring and gaining confidence that the services provided by an (engineered) system when in use comply with stakeholder requirements, achieving its intended use in its intended operational environment. (ISO/IEEE 2008, 1, Section 6.4.8)
(2) The assurance that a product, service, or system meets the needs of the customer and other identified stakeholders; (PMI 2008)
(3) The process of providing evidence that the software and its associated products satisfy system requirements allocated to software at the end of each life cycle activity, solve the right problem, and satisfy intended use and user needs. (IEEE 1012-2004, 3.1.35)
Source
(1) ISO/IEC. 2008. Systems and Software Engineering - System Life Cycle Processes. Geneva, Switzerland: International Organization for Standardization (ISO)/International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). ISO/IEC 15288:2008 (E).
(2) PMI. 2008. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 4th ed. Newtown Square, PA, USA: Project Management Institute (PMI).
(3) IEEE. 2004. IEEE Standard for Software Verification and Validation. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Standards Association: 3.1.35. IEEE 1012-2004.
Discussion
Definition 1a refers to the outcome of providing evidence that a particular system realization is Validated, i.e. does it satisfies the customer and user needs as stated and agreed?. The word (Stakeholder) has been added to clarify the definition
Definition 1b is based on the introduction to the Validation process and refers to the Process of achieving Validation through a set of activities conducted across a system’s life cycle to answer the question Have we built the right system?. The term (engineered) system has been added to conform to SEBoK terminology.
Definition 3 refers to the Validation of software components as both satisfying allocated system requirements and satisfying user needs.
Validation builds on the activities and outcome of verification a process to answer the question Have we built the system right? (i.e., does it satisfy the system requirements?)
For a full discussion of the role and importance of validation in Systems Engineering see the System Validation article.
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