Verification vs. Validation in Quality Assurance Testing

When you have your app or website tested for quality assurance, you may have heard your testers toss around words like verification and validation. But what do they mean by these terms? And what is the difference? Here, we break it down for you:

Verification – An Objective Process

Verification is an objective process. In essence, it checks if a system is free from errors and bugs. There is very little gray area here—either a product works or it doesn’t—and you’ll deploy a series of tests that check documents, codes, and programs to ensure this. This may include test cases, database table designs, design documents, and more.

However, you may have more questions about verification. Below are some of the most common questions we receive about verification as well as our answers:

Who performs verification?

A QA team like the team at Beta Breakers. We will compare the software with the specifications found in the SRS document.When does it take place?

Typically verification is performed during the development stage of your project.

Does it require code execution?

No.

How do you perform verification?

Verification is a manual process done by your QA team where they check all the necessary documents and files of your software.

What are the common types of tests?

Desk-checking, walk-through, and reviews are common tests deployed for verification purposes.

Validation – A Subjective Process

Verification is very cut and dry. It is an objective process that tells you whether your program is free from errors.

Validation, meanwhile, is far more subjective. This process checks to ensure that your program will meet a customer’s expectations. In a way, validation is all about user experience (UX), which is why it’s such a subjective process. Your customers’ expectations may be entirely different from that of another program’s or industry’s customers.

Once again, we’ll answer the most common questions associated with validation below:

Who performs the validation process?

Both your development team and QA team will work together during this process.

When does it take place?

Validation typically takes place after the development process is completed.

Does it require code execution?

Yes, validation does require executing code in order to test the software. It is impossible to complete the validation process without implementing the code.

How do you perform this process?

Where verification is a manual process, validation is an automated process run by a computer.

What are the common types of tests?

Gray box testing, black box testing, and white box testing are all different ways you can test for validation.

Here at Beta Breakers, we can help you test your app or website and perform both verification and validation processes. To learn more, contact us today at 415.878.2990.