The Life Cycle of Software

The V-model defines a uniform procedure for information technology product development, is the standard for many organizations dealing with software development, and is used in commercial organization as well as in federal 

FIGURE 8.1 The V-Model covers the entire process for software development from the business requirements to the implementation of the software in its intended operational environment. The process starts with a statement of work that defines the effort reqnired for the design, engineering, development, production, and test, and prototyping of a software system. The software documentation process covers user requirements, functional, and technical aspects of the software development. After development, different test phases are performed to verify installation, operation, and performance of the software. A business acceptance from the customer finally leads to implementation of the software. 

The V-model was developed in 1992 to regulate the software development process within the German federal administration. It was extended in 1997, called the V-model 97, and the most current version, V-model XT, was finalized in Eebruary 2005 [5], 

Operational qualihcation is based on the intended use of the system and the training of system users. This process ensures that the system functions as required through the use of documented test cases and procedures exercising signihcant system functionality. The tests during this phase are documented in detailed pass-fail criteria addressing the functionality of the system based of the functional or system specihcation. The customer s 

SOPs help to narrow the scope of the operational qualification by reducing the test cases to the procedures approved in the SOPs. The operational qualification is performed by an independent team that may consist of qualified customers and may include qualified vendor personnel. The team has to be independent of the operator or developer groups to allow an impartial assessment of the fitness of the application. 

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