V-Model

The V-model is a term applied to a range of models, from a conceptual model designed to produce a simplified understanding of the complexity associated with systems development to detailed, rigorous development lifecycle models and project management models.

There are several radically different forms of the V-model, and this creates considerable confusion. The V-model falls into three broad categories.

Firstly there is the German V-Model "Das V-Modell", the official project management methodology of the German government. It is roughly equivalent to PRINCE2, but more directly relevant to software development. What is probably the earliest use of the V-Model as a basis for a standard is Software Development Standard for the German Federal Armed Forces, 1992. The key attribute of using a "V" representation was to require proof that the products on the right-side of the V were acceptable by the appropriate test and integration organization implementing the left-side of the V. <German Directive 250, Software Development Standard for the German Federal Armed Forces, V-Model, Software Lifecycle Process Model, August 1992>