Pharma Techexplained
Glossary

Validation master plan

The top-level document defining what gets validated at a site, by whom, and to what standard.

The VMP is the site's validation constitution: scope, responsibilities, methodology, documentation standards and the inventory of systems with their validation status. Inspectors often read it first because it tells them what the company believes its own obligations are.

Its quiet power is prioritization. A living VMP with a risk-ranked system inventory shows control; a VMP last touched five years ago, listing systems that were retired, says more than any individual finding.