Final answer:
Verification attempts to establish that the program is error-free; testing attempts to find if there are any errors in the program.
Step-by-step explanation:
The sentence seems to refer to two critical phases in software development: verification and testing. Verification attempts to establish that the software, in this case a program, is error-free by ensuring it was built correctly according to the specified requirements. Testing, on the other hand, involves executing the program with the intention of finding errors or bugs that were not caught during the verification phase. In the example given, the test program Y is being used to generate an error more frequently than test program X, in an attempt to demonstrate its effectiveness in detecting errors to the management team.
Testing is critical in the software development process as it helps to ensure the reliability and quality of the program. It's important to consider not just the frequency of error detection, but also factors such as the severity of errors, the coverage of test cases, and the overall improvement in fault detection capabilities when evaluating a test program's effectiveness.