Defense Modeling & Simulation Verification, Validation & Accreditation (VV&A) Tools

The Defense Modeling & Simulation Verification, Validation, & Accreditation (VV&A) site supports the various DoD- and Service-level communities. VV&A incorporates three distinct processes: verification, validation, and accreditation. These are three interrelated processes to gather and evaluate evidence to determine whether a simulation’s capabilities, accuracy, correctness, and usability are sufficient to support its intended uses. An accreditation recommendation reflects the degree to which the verification and validation (V&V) evidence supports using the simulation. When the V&V evidence strongly supports the recommendation, that conclusion is put into writing, creating an official record of the decision – something not to be taken lightly. The official DoD definitions for these processes are: 

• Verification – the process of determining that a model implementation and its associated data accurately represent the developer's conceptual description and specifications
• Validation – the process of determining the degree to which a model and its associated data provide an accurate representation of the real world from the perspective of the intended uses of the model 
• Accreditation – the official certification that a model, simulation, or federation of models and simulations and its associated data is acceptable for use for a specific purpose

It can also be helpful to remember each one in terms of a simple question that informally captures the essential idea:

• Verification – Did I build the thing right?
• Validation – Did I build the right thing?
• Accreditation – Is it believable enough to be used?

Additional References:

• Verification, Validation, and Accreditation (VV&A) Recommended Practices Guide (RPG)
• Digital Engineering, Modeling and Simulation (DEM&S) Community of Practice (CoP)
• MIL-STD-3022 Documentation of Verification, Validation, and Accreditation (VV&A) for Models and Simulations
• Digital Product Support ACQuipedia Article

Processes Supported

• Digital Product Support
• Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) / Product Data Management (PDM) 
• Product Support Analysis (PSA)/ Supportability Analysis 
• Product Support Business Case Analysis (BCA)
• Reliability & Maintainability (R&M) Modeling, Prediction, Allocation and Analysis
• Supply Chain Management (SCM)

Potential Organizations Associated

• Air Force/ Space Force
• Army
• Defense Agencies
• Navy/ Marine Corps
• OSD/ Joint Staff

License Requirement

• No fee for Government users

Integrated Product Support (IPS) Elements Addressed

• Design Interface
• Product Support Management
• Supply Support
• Sustaining Engineering

Disclaimer
This suite of government tools is included in the product support analytical tools database to assist defense acquisition workforce members with identifying product support solutions which potentially optimize system readiness and life cycle cost. The analytical tools database itself should under no circumstances be considered all-encompassing; nor does it in any way warrant or endorse the capabilities, pricing, and/or products of any particular individual, company, capability, or organization. Suggested updates to the description of this particular tool or additions to the tools database are welcome.