It is important for educational assessment bodies to demonstrate how they are seeking to meet the demands of validity. The approach to validity taken here assumes a "consequentialist" view where the appropriacy of the inferences made on the basis of assessment results is seen as central. This paper describes the development of a systematic approach to the collection of evidence that can support claims about validity for general qualifications. An operational framework was developed drawing on Kane (2006). The framework involves a list of inferences to be justified as indicated by a number of linked validation questions. For each question various data would be gathered to provide "evidence for validity" and to identify any "threats to validity". The structure is designed to be accessible for operational users. This paper describes the development of the proposed framework and the types of methods to be used to gather relevant evidence. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)