Independent Verification & Validation (IV&V) and Testing at BiC-1
According to the related IEEE standard, Independent Verification and Validation (V&V) processes are used to determine if the development products of a given activity conform to the requirements of that activity and whether the product satisfies its intended use and user needs. V&V lifecycle process requirements are specified for different integrity levels. The scope of V&V processes includes systems, software, and hardware, as well as their interfaces. This standard applies to systems, software, and hardware that are being developed, maintained, or reused (legacy, commercial off-the-shelf [COTS], and non-developmental items). The term software also encompasses firmware and microcode, and each of the terms system, software, and hardware includes documentation. V&V processes involve analysis, evaluation, review, inspection, assessment, and testing of products. BiC-1 provides Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) services that offer quality assurance oversight and assessments of enterprise-level capabilities, such as validating Enterprise Architecture compliance, as well as specific software and system testing support, such as Section 508 accessibility testing.
Approach – IV&V and Testing
BiC-1 follows an Independent Verification and Validation approach based on IEEE 1012-2016, the IEEE Standard for System, Software, and Hardware Verification and Validation. This approach defines an efficient process to identify authoritative data sources against which a system or process will be validated, how to plan for audits and assessments while communicating with all involved parties, reviewing audit and assessment results, managing audit and assessment data, and reporting on results with feedback and recommendations.
For testing, BiC-1 has developed methodologies for various types of testing, including both automated and manual methods. To keep pace with Agile development and support DevOps environments, we focus on creating robust Test Automation Frameworks that include variable-based scripts. These frameworks accelerate test automation—if a test case changes, the tester only needs to update the test case data, typically through a form or spreadsheet-like interface. Scripts driving the testing process and startup scripts do not need modification. This approach encourages reuse not only by our experienced testers who develop the frameworks, but also by junior testers and developers, reducing long-term test staffing costs. As a result, we achieve reduced cycle times, more robust in-sprint testing, and a shorter time to market with lower costs.
BiC-1 employs both proprietary tools like Micro Focus (HP) ALM Quality Center and open-source tools such as Selenium. Given the need for today’s applications to work across multiple browsers, we offer cross-browser testing using specialized tools that recognize information displayed in a browser as objects. This allows us to test functionality across multiple browsers, including iOS and Android-based browsers on mobile devices, using the same test scripts—greatly reducing testing time.
BiC-1’s IV&V and Testing Services include:
- Compliance Audits and Assessments
- Performance Audits and Assessments
- Test Automation
- Functional Testing
- Integration, End-to-End Testing
- Performance Testing
- User Acceptance Testing
- Platform Testing
- Accessibility/Section 508 Testing and Remediation
BiC-1’s IV&V and Testing Experience
Provided Independent Verification & Validation (IV&V) services to clients such as the Marine Corps (MC), Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), Department of Commerce (COMM), Department of Interior (DOI), Department of the Airforce, and Department of the Army (Army).
Reach Back Capabilities, additional non-redundant capabilities as inferred from BiC-1 partners’ NAICS-classified services, are included as a persistent element across all the subcategories (See below chart)
