Hardware vs. Software Verification

I was reading a question posted on LinkedIn this evening asking Test Point Analysis for software testing.

There is an article on Wikipedia speaking to Test Management Approach (TMap) and Test Points for software testing.

I am relatively new to this specific methodology of software testing, but I am experienced in functional verification of hardware (chips). In chip verification, we have test plans that define specific function points that need to be checked (whether by directed tests, or directed-random testing).

I'm curious how much overlap there is between software testing methodologies and hardware verification methodologies. For software testing, is random testing employed, yielding similar benefits as achieved in hardware verification? If so, how is stimulus written? Does the verification of the software impact / restrict the architecture of each class / component?