The Butterfly Model focuses on verification and validation of software products and is therefore a good fit for software testing tasks that are incorporated into the V-model of software development. This model provides a graphic picture of the complexity of test tasks using the outline of a butterfly. The areas occupied by the wings and body are approximately related to the level of effort afforded to each of the activities included in the model. In addition to this the reference of the butterfly stems from Chaos theory which states that a small disturbance in part of a system can have huge consequences in some other part of the system. The development of a software system has certain similarities. Small modifications or errors in code may result in significant degradations in an application's performance. The model establishes three general areas of test activities that are illustrated by the butterfly's graphic outline. They are:
Test Analysis (butterfly’s left wing)
Test Design (right wing)
Test Execution (butterfly’s body)