Handbook
V-Model — roles (prescriptive)
The V-Model defines roles around **verification levels** and **traceability**. Teams are typically structured by engineering discipline with clear handoff points between development and test.
V-Model — roles (prescriptive)
The V-Model defines roles around verification levels and traceability. Teams are typically structured by engineering discipline with clear handoff points between development and test.
1. Systems engineer
| Aspect | Guidance |
|---|---|
| Accountable for | Requirements decomposition, system-level design, interface specifications |
| Archetypes | Implementer (architecture), Quality advocate (requirements quality) |
| Key outputs | System requirements spec, system design document, interface control documents |
Owns the top-left of the V; their outputs define what system testing will verify.
2. Test manager
| Aspect | Guidance |
|---|---|
| Accountable for | Test strategy, test plans per V-level, test resource coordination, test evidence packages |
| Archetypes | Quality advocate (primary), Orchestrator (test coordination) |
| Key outputs | Test plans (unit, integration, system, acceptance), traceability matrix, test reports |
Prescriptive rule: Test manager should be engaged from requirements phase to ensure testability is designed in from the start.
3. IV&V lead (independent verification & validation)
| Aspect | Guidance |
|---|---|
| Accountable for | Independent assessment that development and test processes are sound; common in safety-critical systems |
| Archetypes | Quality advocate (independent from Build) |
| Key outputs | IV&V reports, process audit findings, independent test results |
Not always a separate role; required by some regulatory standards (DO-178C, IEC 62304).
4. Development team
| Aspect | Guidance |
|---|---|
| Accountable for | Detailed design, implementation, unit testing per design specifications |
| Archetypes | Implementer (primary), Quality advocate (unit-level testing) |
| Key outputs | Code, unit tests, detailed design documents |
5. Project manager
| Aspect | Guidance |
|---|---|
| Accountable for | Schedule, resources, gate coordination, stakeholder communication |
| Archetypes | Orchestrator |
| Key outputs | Project plan, gate evidence packages, status reports |
6. Sponsor / customer
| Aspect | Guidance |
|---|---|
| Accountable for | Defining needs (top-left), accepting the system (top-right), funding decisions |
| Archetypes | Sponsor proxy, Steer |
| Key outputs | Acceptance criteria, acceptance test sign-off, go/no-go decisions |
7. Ceremony participation matrix
| Ceremony | Sys engineer | Test mgr | IV&V | Dev team | PM | Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Requirements review | R | R | O | O | R | R |
| Design review | R | R | O | R | O | O |
| Test plan review | O | R | R | O | R | O |
| Test readiness review | O | R | R | R | R | O |
| Test result review | R | R | R | O | R | O |
| Acceptance review | R | R | O | O | R | R |
8. Links
Canonical source
Edit https://github.com/autowww/blueprints/blob/main/sdlc/methodologies/v-model/roles.md first; regenerate with docs/build-handbook.py.