Vehicle Validation

This chapter describes the vehicle validation phase and describes evaluation tests that should be conducted to determine whether the vehicle will meet its customer needs and will be accepted by customers. Validation tests are carried out at the vehicle level, i.e., the whole vehicle with all of its systems is tested. Often, the tests are conducted in customer clinics where representative customers are invited and asked to evaluate the vehicle under various different usage conditions (i.e., driving in different situations and operating/using different vehicle features). Some validation tests are also conducted by using various technical experts and key management personnel as the evaluators, with the assumption that they represent the most critical customers. The primary goal of the validation plan is to test the vehicle to assess whether it will meet all the customer needs. The management of the company wants to review validation test results to ensure that the produced vehicle will be acceptable to customers. The validation process essentially also judges the effectiveness of all the product development and management teams in creating the right product. It also provides an opportunity to make minor refinements in the vehicle before its formal production begins.