Validation Test Plan
Definition
A structured document that defines the test devices, functions to be tested, expected outcomes, and pass/fail criteria before a new tool is approved for casework. The completed results are retained as part of the laboratory's quality records.
- Content
- Test devices, functions tested, expected outcomes, pass/fail criteria
- Timing
- Defined before tool approval for casework
- Record retention
- Kept as part of laboratory quality records
- Applies to
- New tools and equipment entering casework use
Common questions
Why does the plan need to be written before testing rather than after?+
Defining pass/fail criteria in advance prevents an examiner from unconsciously adjusting the acceptance standard to fit whatever results the tool happens to produce, which preserves the objectivity of the validation outcome.
What is the consequence if a laboratory skips a documented validation test plan for new digital forensic tools?+
The lab has no defensible record showing the tool's functions were checked against known criteria before use, which an opposing expert or accreditation auditor can challenge, and results from an unvalidated tool may be excluded or given reduced weight in court.
Related terms
- Daubert Standard
- The US federal evidentiary standard (Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, 1993) requiring that expert testimony be based on scientifically valid methods with...
- Frye Standard
- The US legal test for admissibility of scientific evidence, originating from Frye v. United States (1923), which required that a technique be...
- ISO/IEC 17025
- The international standard for testing and calibration laboratories, published jointly by the International Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission. It...
- Known Error Rate
- One of the four Daubert factors. For a forensic tool, the error rate is determined by testing against reference datasets where the...
- NIST CFTT
- The National Institute of Standards and Technology Computer Forensics Tool Testing programme. It publishes independent test reports for digital forensic tools, including...