Considerations in Applying Retrospective V&V to Automotive Software

Verification and validation (V&V) processes are normally applied during the development of critical software elements. Initially incorporated in software development for military, space, and medical devices, they are now being considered for critical automotive software. This results in highly reliable software yielding a safer product and lower recall rate. When critical software is developed without the application of V&V, as a result of fast-paced scheduling, poor planning, or the upgrade of an older software package, retrospective V&V (RV&V) may be applied to improve software quality. This paper describes a six step process for applying RV&V and details the results of each step and the feedback paths that exist when faults are found.