In Step 5 “Verify & Validate Requirements” each requirement must be verified and validated to ensure that they are the correct requirements. This ensures that the requirements meet the overall objective of the system and all stakeholder needs.
Visit: Verification and Validation for more information.
Validating Requirements
To validate means to confirm that the requirements meet the operational and system level needs of a program. Validating Requirements ensures that:
- The set of requirements is correct, complete, and consistent,
- A model can be created that satisfies the requirements, and
- A real-world solution can be built and tested to prove that it satisfies the requirements.
Requirements designers should go back to stakeholders again with the requirements document and have them review it. The requirements should also all be traced in a rational database at this point. Take Stakeholder comments and make changes; hopefully there’re not any. You may need to revisit Step 2 “Write & Document Requirements” if there are. Repeat the process until there is complete agreement among all stakeholders. When all requirements are agreed upon, a requirements baseline can be established and managed to in Step 6 “Manage Requirements”.
Verifying Requirements
Requirement must be verified to prove that each one satisfies their stated requirement. Verification can be done by:
- Logical argument
- Inspection
- Modeling & Simulation
- Analysis
- Expert Review
- Test and Evaluation (T&E)
- Demonstration
AcqLinks and References:
- Defense Acquisition Guidebook (DAG) – Chapter 4
- Requirements Development Checklist
- DAU Systems Engineering Fundamentals Guide
- Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) Systems Engineering Primer & Handbook
- NASA Systems Engineering Handbook (large 9M file)
- EIA-632 “Processes for Engineering a System” – 7 Jan 99
- White Paper: Writing a Requirements Document “For Multimedia and Software Projects” by Rachel S. Smith
- White Paper: Requirements Development, Verification, and Validation Famous Failures by Bahill & Henderson
Updated: 7/28/2017