Verification vs. Validation

The classic definition

• Verification: “Are we building the product right?”

  • checks work products against specs
  • reviews, inspections, static analysis

• Validation: “Are we building the right product?”

  • checks product meets user needs
  • product demos, UAT, real-world testing

Examples

Verification examples

• code review checks requirements are implemented
• linting checks coding standards
• unit test checks a function’s behavior

Validation examples

• beta users confirm the feature solves their problem
• UAT sign-off in a business workflow

Diagram

diagram Diagram mermaid

  graph TD
A[Requirements] --> B[Design]
B --> C[Implementation]

A --> V1[Validation: meets user needs?]
B --> V2[Verification: matches design/spec?]
C --> V3[Verification: matches expected behavior?]