Glossary · Requirements and interfaces
Verification criterion
In systems engineering, a verification criterion is a measurable condition used to determine whether a requirement has been fulfilled. It states what is measured, how, and which result counts as a pass.
- Verification
- Systems engineering
In one sentence
A verification criterion makes a requirement checkable: a measurable condition with a method and a pass threshold.
Example
For the requirement “the press stops before a hand reaches the die”, the verification criterion is a measured overall stopping time of at most 180 ms at maximum stroke rate.
How it applies
- Requirements: A system requirement without a verification criterion is not verifiable. Write the criterion together with the requirement.
- Machine safety: For safety functions, criteria often include measured values (response time, stopping time, force) and the test conditions under which they are measured.
- Evidence: Test reports should quote the criterion and the measured result side by side, so a reviewer can see the pass or fail without interpretation.
- Technical documentation: Where users perform periodic checks, the manual needs the same criteria in usable form, for example a maximum permitted stopping distance.
Verification criterion vs. acceptance criterion
The verification criterion answers “was this requirement met?” and supports verification. The acceptance criterion answers “is the result acceptable for its stakeholder and use?”.