Insufficient test coverage in product validation and verification leads to significant quality problems, increased costs and time delays. Potential errors or deficiencies remain undetected for a long time, impair product reliability, jeopardize safety and lead to product recalls and legal consequences. The later the errors are discovered, the more expensive they are to rectitfy. Customer dissatisfaction and loss of trust can damage the company's reputation and cost market share. Internally, inefficient processes and a demotivated workforce lead to further challenges that impair the company's long-term ability to innovate and compete.

Manual efforts arise primarily when carrying out tests, inspecting products and documenting results, which often depend on the skills and accuracy of the people involved. These activities have a high probability of errors, are time-consuming and cost-intensive and lead to inconsistent results. They are difficult to scale and make the documentation and traceability of processes more difficult. These factors unnecessarily extend development times, further increase costs and impair product quality. Automation and standardized processes are necessary to overcome these challenges and improve efficiency.

Product variants that are not considered result in incomplete test coverage and limited reliability, as not all possible configurations and variants are represented. This leads to undetected vulnerabilities and reduces the level of maturity. Regulatory risks and legal consequences can occur if not all variants meet the required standards. Overall, missing product variants jeopardize the necessary degree of validation coverage and the smooth ramp-up of production.

The later errors are identified, the more expensive it is to fix them. The “Rule of Ten” in product validation and verification states that the cost of rectifying an error increases by a factor of ten the later it is discovered in the product life cycle! Remediation is cheapest in the early phase and is becoming increasingly expensive in the prototype and production phase. The most costly errors are those that are only discovered after the market launch, as they require recalls and repairs and can damage the company's image.