Qualification Test and Evaluation (QT&E)

Qualification Test and Evaluation (QT&E) is performed by government test representatives and is a tailored type of DT&E for which there is little to no RDT&E-funded development effort. It validates how a system integrates into its intended environment, how it meets specified requirements in accordance with the approved design, and how it meets performance standards. QT&E is normally performed on Commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS), non-developmental items (NDI), and government-furnished equipment (GFE).

QT&E validates the cybersecurity posture of the system and if meets Department of Defense (DoD), Air Force (AF), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and Committee on National Security Systems (CNSS) standards and policies.

Document: Qualification Test and Evaluation (QT&E) Process

QT&E is performed in a government-provided and managed operationally-relevant environment and supports Limited Deployment (LD) test activities in the production environment. It can also be supported by end-users to provide end-user input related to system maturity and its ability to meet operational mission requirements.

QT&E objectives validate:

The product integrates into its intended environment,
Meets specified requirements IAW the approved design,
Meets performance standards,
Meet DoD standards and policies for information assurance controls employed by the system

QT&E includes the following test segments:

System Integration Test (SIT)
Data Management Evaluation (DME)
System Operability Evaluation (SOE)
Performance Evaluation Test (PET)
Cybersecurity Evaluation (CSE)
Regression Test (RT)
User Evaluation Test (UET)

AcqLinks and References:

Update: 10/30/2019