Software Verification, Validation, & UAT – What’s the Difference?

Software verification, software validation & user acceptance testing are three separate software quality assurance activities that are performed during software development and deployment to ensure that the application is of high quality and meets the end user’s specific requirements.  These terms are easily confused and are often used interchangeably but in reality; they are quite different.

Software verification is the process of evaluating a system or component to determine whether it meets its specified requirements or not. It is usually performed by the software vendor/manufacturer via testing, reviewing code, and analyzing the output. The primary objective of verification is to check whether the software is built according to its design and meets the vendor’s specified requirements. Software verification answers the question “Is the software built right?”

Software validation, on the other hand, is the process of evaluating software to ensure that it meets the user’s needs and requirements. Software validation is typically performed by the manufacturer’s software testers, quality assurance (QA) engineers or the end-users/customers.  When completed by the software vendor, it can also be referred to as supplier validation.  The objective of the validation is to ensure that the software meets the user’s needs and requirements and will deliver business value.  Validation is usually performed by reviewing the software’s functional specifications and requirements to ensure that the software meets the user’s needs.  It can also cover analyzing the software’s performance to ensure that it meets service level requirements and testing usability to ensure a good end-user experience. Validation answers the question “Was the right software built?”

User Acceptance Testing (UAT) is a type of testing that is performed on a software product or system by the end-users/customers to determine whether it meets their requirements and is fit for purpose using the actual hardware, software and configuration that the customer will be taking live – outside of the developer’s controlled environment. UAT is the final stage of testing before the software is released to the users.  UAT usually involves creating and executing test scenarios that represent real-world situations and workflows.  And unlike verification and validation, the users or customers are generally responsible for defining the acceptance criteria and performing the tests.

UAT testing takes place outside of the developer’s controlled environment and takes place at a user’s site with the actual hardware and software that will be part of the installed system configuration. The testing is accomplished through either use (either actual or simulated) of the application under test within the context in which it is intended to function. These real-world scenarios test the software’s functionality, usability, interoperability, and performance. The users or customers are responsible for defining the acceptance criteria and performing the tests.

UAT is an essential part of the software deployment lifecycle and is the last quality check before the application is released to the end users.

In summary:

• Verification is about ensuring that the software is built right
• Validation is about ensuring that the right software is built;
• UAT ensures that the software meets the actual user’s requirements in their specific environment, with their specific configuration and is fit for purpose.

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