WP7 assures that ACTIVE provides results which are valid as solutions based on the defined objectives, throughout the project. During system development, validation is carried out to detect deviations from the original plan and to provide feedback to the Management Board for early corrective action. For this purpose project progress is assessed in short intervals throughout the project. This approach, innovative to research projects, allows tight, result-oriented monitoring of project progress.

Validation includes both refinement of the initially defined success criteria for the applications, definition of appropriate metrics, and measurement. It covers the outcome of the project from the start: Application concepts and system models, mock-ups, prototypes and application field trials.

Validation will also address organizational impact of the ACTIVE systems. All validation activities will focus on impact on the individual users as well as on organizational processes, with appropriate weight given to either aspect according to the phase of project progress. In the early project phases the main concern will be to analyze the current status, and to assure the validity of the application concept in view of progressively more precise system specifications. For this purpose the use of a dynamic integrated catalogue of needs/requirements is envisaged. This catalogue is to be driven from the Case Studies and Technical WP partners in accordance with the ACTIVE goals. Validation will develop, monitor and update this requirement catalogue in close collaboration with the industrial and Technical partners.

Validation will proceed in two branches; business benefit analyses and field tests of the case study applications which will demonstrate the benefit created for individual users and user organizations in terms of efficiency of work processes, effectiveness and quality of information.

Furthermore, test plans for the three case studies will be developed and based on valid and proven methods. Methods to be used in the conclusive field trials will be integrated into the application processes to enable efficient, unobtrusive, and valid data collection. Requirements and user testing will be carried out in close collaboration between WP 8, 9, 10 and WP 7. Outcomes will be direct feedback and recommendations to the development teams, executive reports to the management board including results, indicators and proposed action, and finally reports of field trial results and business benefit analysis.