Selecting verification and validation techniques for simulation projects: A planning and tailoring strategy

Conducting verification and validation (V&V) of modeling and simulation (M&S) requires systematic and structured application of different V&V techniques throughout the M&S life cycle. Whether an existing technique is appropriate to a particular V&V activity depends not only on the characteristics of the technique but also on the situation where it will be applied. Although there already exit several guidance documents describing a variety of V&V techniques and their application potential, accessible findings or experiences on the effective selection of suitable V&V techniques for a given M&S context are still lacking. This paper presents: (1.) a characterization approach to developing a V&V techniques catalog that packages the available techniques together with the information about their application conditions; and (2.) a planning and tailoring strategy for project-specific selection of the appropriate V&V techniques from the established catalog according to the goals and characteristics of a simulation study.