Establish and maintain an approach and an environment for verification and validation.

Preparation is necessary to ensure that verification provisions are embedded in service and service system requirements, designs, developmental plans, and schedules. Verification encompasses selection, inspection, testing, analysis, and demonstration of all service system components, including work products, processes, and consumable resources.

Similar preparation activities are necessary for validation to be meaningful and successful. These activities include selecting services and service system components and establishing and maintaining the validation environment, procedures, and criteria. It is particularly important to involve end users and front-line service delivery staff in validation activities because their perspectives on successful service delivery can vary significantly from one another and from service system developers.

Example Work Products

1.    Lists of the service system components selected for verification and validation

2.    Verification and validation methods for each selected component

3.    Verification and validation environment

4.    Verification and validation procedures

5.    Verification and validation criteria

Subpractices

1.    Select the components to be verified and validated and the verification and validation methods that will be used for each.

Service system components are selected based on their contribution to meeting service objectives and requirements and to addressing risks.

2.    Establish and maintain the environments needed to support verification and validation.

3.    Establish and maintain verification and validation procedures and criteria for selected service system components.