The International Software Testing Qualifications Board (ISTQB) Certified Tester, Automotive Software Tester (CT-AUT) study guide states that the following test levels are equivalent: component test (CTFL), software unit test (ISO 26262.6-9) and software component verification (ASPICE. SVYE.4). ISO 26262 and ASPICE both use the term 'system' to refer to a product consisting of a hardware and a software component. ISO 26262 does not have an equivalent for system testing (CTFL), and ASPICE does not have an equivalent for safety validation (ISO 26262.4-9) and system integration test (ASPICE SYS.4).

According to Automotive SPICE®, Hardware-in-the-Loop-Tests (HIL-Tests) are not an appropriate component of a verification strategy for unit tests (software units) that are manually coded. HIL-Tests are used to test the interaction of the software system with the actual hardware to ensure the correct behavior of the system. However, these tests are not suitable for manually-coded software units and instead, verification strategies should include tools supported static analysis and code reviews. Unit tests (test of software units) are also an appropriate component of a verification strategy for manually-coded software units.