Models Methods Software

More on V&V and SQA at LANL for ASC and the NNSA

This previous post mentioned V&V and SQA at Los Alamos National Laboratory ( LANL ) within the framework of the Advanced Simulation & Computing ( ASC ) Program for the National Nuclear Security Administration ( NNSA )

Verification and Validation of scientific and engineering software seems to have become a very important part of scientific and engineering software at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

This section:
Typical Questions That V&V Can Answer…

Has this entry:

• “Models can be validated without data.”
Wrong! There is no validation without data because model validation must assess prediction accuracy relative to a physical reality. While code verification and calculation verification are concerned with the accuracy of the numerical implementation and convergence, respectively, validation activities focus on the adequacy of numerical simulations when applied to the description of reality, which requires experimental observations. We nevertheless recognize that the lack of test data can pose serious problems to model validation. Rigorously controlled expert elicitation techniques can provide information that is substituted to experimental testing in cases of severe lack of data and uncertainty.

Code-to-code comparisons are not Validation. Never have been, never will be.

More LANL info here and and here.

December 14, 2010 Posted by Dan Hughes | Verification | SQA, Validation, Verification | Leave a comment

V&V and SQA: Part 1, Definitions and Characterization

I’m going to post a series of short summaries of some of the central aspects of verification, validation ( V&V ) and software quality assurance ( SQA ) for production-grade computer software. These subjects have received significant investigations starting in the 1980s ( more or less ) and have reached maturation and have been successfully applied to a wide range of scientific and engineering software. I don’t intend to give a complete exposition of the subjects, the field is much too big.
Continue reading →

August 15, 2010 Posted by Dan Hughes | Verification | SQA, Validation, Verification | Leave a comment