This blog post was written based on the fourth edition of the PMBOK Guide. Since the arrival of the PMBOK Guide 5th Edition, this post is no longer valid. However, I am leaving it intact as part of organizational process assets. If you wish to review old definitions you can read them here.
Many PMP aspirants may confuse validated deliverables and accepted deliverables. They seem similar, but they are not.
Validated deliverables and accepted deliverables are important concepts in project management. You will see a few questions on these topics on your PMP exam.
Validated Deliverables
Validated deliverables have been checked for completeness and correctness.
According to the PMBOK Guide, they are an output of the perform quality control process and are an input of the verify scope process.
The perform quality control process belongs to the Monitoring & Controlling Process Group.
Accepted Deliverables
According to the PMBOK guide, accepted deliverables have met the acceptance criteria and are approved by the customer or client.
Accepted project deliverables are the output of the verify scope process.
The client accepts the deliverable when it has passed the validation process. First, the project management team checks it for its completeness and correctness; then, they send it to the customers to be accepted or rejected.
Summary
Validated deliverables and accepted deliverables belong to different knowledge areas. They help project managers develop and deliver the correct product. A validated deliverable means you have checked it for completeness and that it meets quality requirements. You do this during the quality control process. On the other hand, an accepted deliverable means the client has accepted the deliverable, and it meets their requirements.
How is a deliverable validated and accepted in your project experience? Please share in the comments section.
I am Mohammad Fahad Usmani, B.E. PMP, PMI-RMP. I have been blogging on project management topics since 2011. To date, thousands of professionals have passed the PMP exam using my resources.
Great piece!
Just want to know if I will be correct to say that accepted deliverables are those that have gone through the Validate deliverables process and have gone through any adjustments as ascertained during the validation process.
Correct.
Hi Usami, What is the difference between obtaining acceptance of deliverables in Validate Scope and in Close project. In PMBOK 5th edition pg 58 it is mentioned “Obtain acceptance by the customer or sponsor to formally close the project or phase” and in pg 134 it is “The verified deliverables obtained from CQ process are reveiwed with customer or sponsor to ensure that they are completed satisfactorily and have received formal acceptance of deliverables by the customer or sponsor”
It is very clear in the PMBOK Guide.
Validate Scope: Validate Scope is the process of formalizing acceptance of the completed project deliverables.
Close Project: Close Project or Phase is the process of finalizing all activities across all of the Project Management Process Groups to formally complete the project or phase. The key benefit of this process is that it provides lessons learned, the formal ending of project work, and the release of organization resources to pursue new endeavors.
Thanks for the clarification, Meanwhile I too figured out from Rita’s book that Validate scope is obtaining acceptance of many interim deliverables and close project is getting accepting for the whole project.
You are welcome Amit.
Hi Usmani,
What is the difference between Work Performance Data and Work Performance Information?
What is the difference between Requirements management plan and Requirements documentation?
Thanks.
neil
This blog post explains the work performance data and work performance information:
https://pmstudycircle.com/2013/10/work-performance-data-wpd-and-work-performance-information-wpi/
In requirement management plan you define how the requirements will be managed, and requirements documents includes documents describingh stakeholders requirements, project requirements, etc.
Is it then safe to say that the interplay of both terms ‘verify’ and ‘validate’ between the two editions seems to suggest that they are interchangeable and mean one and the same thing? What seems clear is that verified/validated deliverables are more of internal checks on quality while accepted deliverables involve ‘externals’ e.g. sponsors, stakeholders and their acceptance of product before the project is closed?
Hello Claude,
I am writing an article which will cover the point raised by you. I will share you the link once it is published.
Hi Usmani
Kindly can u update me on verified/validated delivery if u have updated u r blog bit. Confusing on the names
As per the PMBOK Guide 5th edition,
You do the verification internally to see if the product/deliverable is meeting all requirements, And the validation is about acceptance of the product/deliverable by the client.
The latest edition of the PMBOK corrects previous edition(s) mis-use of the Verification and Validation descriptors and brings them in-line with common accepted use of those terms. They are definitely NOT interchangeable.
I think Control Quality produces Verified Deliverable and not Validated Deliverable
In the fourth edition of the PMBOK Guide, Control Quality was producing Validated Deliverables while in the fifth edition of the PMBOK Guide, Control Quality produces Verified Deliverables.
I think the term verify scope shall be replaced with validate scope
Yes, you’re right. In the fifth edition of the PMBOK Guide, verify scope is replaced with validate scope.