Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) is a process in which an independent organization conducts an unbiased review of products to verify and validate that the products meet the customers' requirements and are engineered or constructed according to standard practices. IV&V is composed of specific activities that are performed in parallel with and complement the development process: requirements, design, build, document verification, and program validation. Our vision is to provide a full service level that includes identifying the problems and how they can be corrected, becoming involved in the process rather than just acting as an external reviewer, with no interest in the outcome. For GAITS, IV&V is not just testing and editing, it includes a full range of services and support for both the SFA and the Contractors. 
Verification determines whether or not a system or product meets all specified requirements. It exposes requirement inconsistencies and design errors early in the development process when errors are less expensive to correct. Validation determines whether or not the system achieves the specified functional and performance levels in a reliable and efficient manner. 

Enterprises modernizing their information systems must ensure that the systems:

• Satisfy business needs
• Are well engineered
• Are error free

IV&V helps ensure that all products and documentation comply with the system requirements. GAITS uses its well-established methodology to review, analyze, and test a system throughout the system life cycle, usually tied to internal standards published by the Agency, and external standards, such as SEI CMM or CMMI. This methodology detects problems and deficiencies early in the life cycle to decrease the cost of corrections and to ensure that the final products meet performance, integrity, reliability, supportability, and quality requirements. Our approach combines a proven, structured methodology with innovative automated tools. We provide a comprehensive, integrated framework of services that relies on: 

• An expert staff with a broad spectrum of technical and management disciplines and extensive government and industry evaluation and authentication expertise. 
• An in-depth knowledge of industry standards and recommended practices such as SEI CMM, ISO, NIST, and IEEE. 
• Rigorous processes and procedures based on standard industry evaluation and authentication approaches. 
• Specialized analysis tools to both facilitate and enhance traditional IV&V analysis. 

GAITS believes that IV&V is not only a set of review and analysis activities, but a set of functions that occur within the context of a whole project. The three parties (Government Agency, Modernization Contractor, and IV&V Contractor) are parts of the entire process, and if they function well together, the prospect for a completely successful system delivery is enhanced.

While the functioning well together is not intended to reduce the review and validation functions, results are enhanced when the IV&V contractor recognizes that adversarial relationships don’t help to bring a system to successful fruition. By developing an attitude of partnership, and working to ensure that the culture of the project team enhances the feeling that the IV&V Team is a partner and not an “auditor” brought in to point out errors and omissions, the opportunity to correct things in advance and to deliver a first class product to the Government is enhanced.

GAITS works closely with each IV&V functional customer to deliver this philosophy. When the results of an IV&V review are a surprise, then the process has failed, and needs to be reviewed to see how all parties can avoid the surprises in the future. An IV&V Team, as managed by GAITS, is an adjunct to the Government’s requirement to obtain a system that does not require constant correction and maintenance, and meets the stated objectives. As our past performance references and our technical expertise has demonstrated, GAITS delivers on this philosophy with superior results.