INDEPENDENT VERIFICATION AND VALIDATION - 4940.3

Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) is the process for ensuring that a product, service, or system meets requirements and specifications and that it fulfills its intended purpose. Within IV&V, the term verification refers to the process of evaluating software to determine whether the products of a given development phase satisfy the conditions imposed at the start of that phase. [IEEE-STD-610]. The term validation refers to the process of evaluating software during or at the end of the development process to determine whether it satisfies specified requirements. [IEEE-STD-610]. IEEE–STD-1012 industry standards will be used to guide the IV&V activities.

When contracting for IV&V services, Agencies/state entities must use the standard Statement of Work (SOW) template (see SIMM Section 45A). Any changes to the standard SOW template requires approval by the California Department of Technology.

The following IV&V requirements apply to all reportable projects, based on the project criticality rating assigned by the Department of Technology:

• IV&V services are required for all reportable projects classified as medium or high criticality and must begin on or before the proposed project start date as identified in the Stage 4 approval letter issued by the Department of Technology and must continue through the duration of the project unless other direction is provided by the Department of Technology.
• IV&V services may be required for projects classified as low criticality at the discretion of the Agency Chief Information Officer (AIO) or the Department of Technology.
• IV&V services may be required during the Project Approval Lifecycle, as directed by the Department of Technology.
• To ensure independence, IV&V services for Agency-affiliated State Entity projects must report to the respective AIO.
• A single vendor may not provide both IV&V and Independent Project Oversight services for the same project.