What is Computerized system validation?

Computerized system validation is the process of testing/validating/qualifying a regulated computerized system to ensure that it does exactly what it is designed to do in a consistent and reproducible manner that is as safe, secure and reliable as paper records. This is widely used in the Pharmaceutical, Life Sciences and BioTech industries and is a cousin of Software Testing but with a more formal and documented approach. The validation process begins with the system proposal/requirements definition and continues until system retirement and retention of the e-records based on regulatory rules.