"Introduction All of the papers referenced in this compendium attest to the difficulties of the integration@ verification@ and validation (IVV) phase of the automotive hardware and software system life cycle. Yet@ the future of automotive product development lies in the timely integration of these chiefly electronic and mechanical systems. How can the automotive industry overcome these difficulties? These carefully selected papers demonstrate how leading companies@ universities@ and organizations have developed methodologies@ tools@ and technologies to integrate@ verify@ and validate hardware and software systems. The integration activities cross both product type and engineering discipline boundaries to include chip-@ embedded board-@ and network/vehicle-level systems. Integration@ verification@ and validation of each of these three domains will be examined separately and then together. Each of the domains uses identical terms to describe key concepts@ elements@ and processes (e.g.@ modeling@ hardware-software@ and systems). Before proceeding@ these terms and others must be defined to avoid confusion@ and set the proper context for the rest of the book. IVV is that portion of the complete product or system life-cycle phase captured in the right-hand side (RHS) of the V-diagram model (see Fig. 1). This RHS portion is sometimes called the ""build@ test@ and deliver phase [1]."" The model's left-hand side is where the architectural design is functionally partitioned and decomposed into manageable subsystems and components. At the lowest levels of decomposition??i.e.@ the bottom of the ""V""??the resulting subsystems are ready to be recomposed into an integrated whole. This integration phase is where verification@ validation@ and test of all the hardware and software occur. What is meant by verification and validation? How does testing fit into all these activities? Verification is the process of ensuring that the system or product was built correctly@ as specified by the design. Similarly@ validation ensures that the correct system or product was built (i.e.@ that the correct problem was addressed). Verification and validation are accomplished by testing at every level@ from individual subsystems/units through the integration of the complete system. The current state of the art is to integrate@ verify@ validate@ and test automotive hardware and software with a complement of physical hardware and virtual software prototyping tools. The growth of sophisticated software tools@ sometimes combined with hardwarein- the-loop devices@ has allowed the automotive industry to meet shrinking time-tomarket@ decreasing costs@ and increasing safety demands. It is also why most of the papers in this book focus on virtual systems@ prototypes@ and models to emulate and simulate both hardware and software. Further@ such tools and techniques are the way that hardware and software systems can be ""co-verified"" and tested in a concurrent fashion. Are physical hardware and software prototyping tools the best way to perform IVV and test? Probably not@ according to Bill Chown@ product marketing director for the systemlevel engineering division at Mentor Graphics. ""It is very hard to do worse case or statistical analysis with a specific instance or even limited set of instances of a piece of hardware@"" observed Chown. What can be done? A model-driven design@ implementation@ and test approach has gained growing acceptance over the years [2@ 3]. A model-driven development (MDD) process supports verification of the model at each stage of design and thus reduces reliance on late-stage physical integration and testing as the primary means to validate the system@ notes Chown. Another benefit of model-driven development is its supports of the design and verification of mechatronic automotive systems and the growing need for crossdisciplinary collaboration. Mechatronics is a development process that requires a combination of mechanical@ electrical/electronic@ control@ and computer engineering disciplines. ""Vehicle electronics and embedded systems currently represent 20 to 40% of global development costs and are projected to grow at 9% a year@"" noted Michael Lalande@ Director of Transportation Mobility@ Dassault Syst??mes. ""To control development costs and remain competitive requires the integration of mechanical@ electronic@ and software components into one virtual and collaborative environment."" But a virtual environment requires extensive modeling of all hardware and software components and processes. However@ once created@ these virtual models can be used again and again. The reuse of mechanical and electronic hardware as well as software code@ libraries@ and models is a critical element of today's design and integration activities. Reuse of such intellectual property (IP) is a prerequisite to meet performance@ time@ and cost demands of modern hardware-software systems. The goal of this compilation of expert articles is to reveal the similarities and differences between the integration@ verification@ and validation (IVV) of hardware and software at the chip@ board@ and network levels. This comparative study will reveal the common IVV thread among the different@ but ultimately related@ implementations of hardware and software systems. In so doing@ it supports the larger systems engineering approach for the vertically integrated automobile??namely@ that of model-driven development."