Perhaps you’ve heard the term “IV&V” tossed around your company. People talk about how valuable it is, and how critical it can be to successful software development… But how does it actually work? Are you supposed to do it in-house, or bring in an outside team?
While your team may be able to perform some of the evaluations of an IV&V team, the true value comes from employing a independent third party. Let’s explore some of the important benefits:
Experience
One of the primary (and most visible) benefits of a third party IV&V is the experience they bring to the table. They might not be intimately familiar with your business, but this is a process they have performed many times over. They know what to look for, how to communicate with company leaders, and what fixes to recommend for an array of potential problems.
Experience also means the ability to plan thoroughly. An IV&V team comes on board with an established method of testing and tracking, as well as framework for rolling out changes, communicating among departments, and so much more.
A Separate Job
An IV&V team is there to evaluate, validate, and verify. That’s precisely the approach they will bring into your organization, without any other distractions. Because the team is dedicated to this goal (and no others), they work diligently and independently.
Trying to have in-house employees perform these tasks is typically less than ideal. Even if they are perfectly capable of the tasks, they will be doing them in addition to their other job roles. The result is either inefficiency or distraction. Bringing in an outside team ensures that everyone can stay focused on the areas where they’ll have the most impact.
Impartial Perspective
Related to topic above, a third party IV&V team can also come into your organization with fresh eyes and zero preconceptions. They won’t be thinking about previous development issues or organizational politics. They won’t have favorite features or ideas they want to protect – even if they prove to be impractical. Office hierarchy won’t influence decisions or recommendations. Previous successes won’t cloud judgement.
All of this adds up to as objective a view on development as possible.
With an impartial view of the development process, the IV&V team makes decisions and recommendations based on outcomes, not bias. They lean on experience and training to provide honest, data-driven feedback – all aimed at streamlining and improving your development process.
To learn more about the benefits of employing a third party IV&V team, how they operate, and the ROI it can provide for your development efforts, contact us today!
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