When exploring IV&V options, people tend to ask: “How often does it need to be done?”
Well, the most correct answer to such a question is,”It doesn’t quite work that way.” IV&V isn’t a one-off activity that companies bring in from time to time. Instead, IV&V is an ongoing process that spans the lifecycle of software development. So the answer to “how often” is really “as often as you develop new software.”
To dig into this in further detail, let’s look at the typical software development lifecycle – also known as SDLC.
Requirement Analysis
The first phase of software development is one of “discovery” – that is, exploring available options, determining needs, and gathering guidelines. This typically includes setting goals, determining scope and budget, and pre-planning test phases.
For the IV&V team, this means working closely with stakeholders to ensure realistic and achievable goals. It may also include coordinating the needs of different departments, establishing a testing schedule, and overseeing the top-down analysis that gets development off the ground.
Design
The design process incorporates both the front and back ends of the software. This means designing functionality as well as user interface – and everything in between. The majority of this phase tends to focus on high level architecture and code building. The design process also looks forward to all of the components that need to be assembled, even across different teams.
IV&V again acts partly as an overseer and intermediary here. Not only will the IV&V team use their experience to help different departments communicate, they can also draw the connections between the vision of developers, the requirements of the stakeholders, and the needs of those who will ultimately be using the finished project.
Previous expertise can also be critical in this phase. IV&V professionals will have a knowledge base of potential pitfalls, customer/employee expectations, legal requirements, and so much more. Additionally, an IV&V team will have an existing methodology for going through the steps of design.
Implementation
After the design and analysis phases, it’s time to implement the software. This is the real meat of the work that needs to be done: developing code, building databases, and bringing all of the necessary pieces together. This is also where the most problems occur…
Having an IV&V team on hand during this step is invaluable. The implementation phase is where testing experience, foresight, and a sophisticated system of tracking and recording shows its greatest potential. Instead of trying to rely on internal staff for these extremely important measures, companies can turn to IV&V experts to fine tune the implementation process.
Testing
As implementation is underway (all the way through to completion), testing is an absolute must. Methods and timelines for testing will likely have been determined over the course of analysis, design, and implementation, but as the results begin to roll in, an IV&V team will know what to do with them!
This is another area where coordination among departments is key. Each group – from customers to stakeholders, engineers to IT staff – will have different concerns and potential fixes. The IV&V team will keep all of this information in order, helping to make adjustments, refine tests, and streamlining communication to move ever closer to the final results.
Deployment
As the software goes live, the REAL test begins. Even with rigorous testing and analysis throughout the process, trouble can always arise. Having an IV&V team as part of deployment means previous experience mitigating customer complaints, assuring stakeholders, and making workarounds so operations can continue. Again, this is a product of experience and expertise in the field of development and deployment.
Because the IV&V team is a third party, they can also identify where resources are being wasted, which issues are most important, and what requires the most immediate attention without the bias of being an internal staff member.
Maintenance and “After Live”
At the end of the SDLC, there’s still ongoing maintenance – and that too requires planning. While the company itself will be responsible for software maintenance, training, updates, and the like, an IV&V team creates a plan. With all the data from the SDLC, IV&V “ends” with a clear direction for the future.
So, to circle back to the initial question… IV&V isn’t a one-off or something you call in from time to time. Instead, it’s the integration of an experienced team into your development efforts from start to finish.
It’s not so much a question of “how often,” but of the value IV&V brings to the entire process. These processes are most effective when they are tied to the entire life cycle of development. As often as you build new software, that’s how often you should implement IV&V!
To learn more about how how IV&V can improve ROI and greatly boost efficiency, contact us today!
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