8.3Verification Activities

Verification checks whether the implementation matches the specification. It is primarily an internal activity.

Static Verification (no code execution)

Activity	What It Catches
Code review	Logic errors, missed edge cases, style violations
Requirement review	Ambiguity, contradictions, missing acceptance criteria
Design review	Architecture issues, scalability concerns, security gaps
Spec walkthrough	Misunderstandings between product and engineering
Static analysis tools	Code smells, potential null references, unused variables

Dynamic Verification (code execution)

Activity	What It Catches
Unit tests	Individual function/method correctness
Integration tests	Component interaction issues
Regression tests	Previously fixed bugs reintroduced
Contract tests	API response structure matches the documented schema
Linting and type checking	Type mismatches, undefined variables

Verification in Practice

When you write a test case that says "Given a user with valid credentials, When they submit the login form, Then they are redirected to /dashboard" — you are performing verification. You are checking that the software does what the spec says it should do.