This paper is intended to serve as an introduction to the concepts of verification and validation as they apply to computational mechanics. The continuing formalization of the verification and validation processes by the American National Institute of Standards sanctioned bodies such as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Standards Committee on Verification and Validation in Computational Solid Mechanics, and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Computational Fluid Dynamics Standards Committee, is intended to provide decision makers, who increasingly rely on computational mechanics predictions for high risk endeavours, the ability to make informed decisions based not only on the computed 'answer', but also the rational approach used to obtain the answer and a quantifiable level of confidence in the correctness of the answer. This paper begins by asking the question that verification and validation attempts to answer. Next, the processes of verification and validation are illustrated using simple and detailed figures, and an accompanying example of modelling an aircraft wing. Some thought on the future of standards as they might apply to verification and validation in computational mechanics are provided in the next section. The last section is suggested reading for those seeking a brief history of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Standards Committee on Verification and Validation in Computational Solid Mechanics.
