Don’t Pay Twice!

There are still Federal agencies that continue to rely on the Development Contractor to also perform all testing ranging from the smallest component to the full system. The inherent weakness in this process is that for the Development Contractor the primary objective is to deliver enough functionality in order to get paid. Occasionally, the delivered software adversely impacts an existing software application or system. In these situations the Federal agency feels “forced” to accept the delivery and then issue another contract in an attempt to get the system it needs and expects. Thus the agency pays twice for one item.

The agency could have refused the delivery as being insufficient. The agency could have informed the Development Contractor that they would receive full payment only when the delivery met all of the contractual requirements. Whether or not the agency could actually do this would depend on the wording of the contract and thus the onus is placed on the Contracts Office.

Another option is for the agency to use an independent testing group. One contract is issued for the development of the system or software and another contract is issued for the testing of the system or software. While that solves the first problem it creates another problem. The new problem is that the software or system is now being tested by an independent group either in the absence of requirements or against non-vetted requirements. Either one of these may result in software never exiting from the test environment.

The IV&V Group®  supports your effort to eliminate both of these problems. We allow you to introduce the concept of independent verification and validation (IV&V) early in your development process. By initiating IV&V tasks prior to testing, you mitigate the “stovepipe” effect. By implementing IV&V tasks early in the development process the churn caused by insufficient requirements, insufficient design, and inadequate test cases is eliminated.  Contact us.

Eva freund
[email protected]