Reviews, Inspections and Walkthroughs

Review Techniques
Definition Review Review is
a process to verify a product against requirements a process to identify defects / deviation a process to ensure that, the project is on the right path A formal evaluation technique in which software requirements or design or code, are examined in detail by a group of persons other than the author(s) to detect faults, violation of development standards, and other problems (IEEE Std 729-1983)

Review Myths
Reviews costs money Hard work alone results in quality Reviews can be done only by senior staff Review is waste of time

Meeting Customer Needs

Do it Right the First Time (Ultimate Goal) Requires perfect process Currently not possible (shortage of time) After the fact, Defect Removal (current scenario) Most Common Test-Fix Approach Costly

Reviews
Reviews are Quality Control techniques used in software development that relies on individuals other than the author (s) to evaluate the quality of the product. Purpose is to find errors before the product is delivered carried out - formally or informally Walkthrough iNfORMA TECHNOLOGIES Ph:23600343. 28

Reviews, Inspections and Walkthroughs

Peer Reviews Checkpoint Reviews Inspections Audits

Walkthrough - informal reviews which require no advance preparation.

Typically used to confirm understanding, test ideas, brainstorm etc.,

Peer Reviews - Review by peers of the same project Checkpoint Reviews - reviews held at predefined points in the life cycle,
which evaluate whether certain quality factors are being adequately addressed in the system

Inspections - reviews of an individual product, used to evaluate correctness,

based on its input criteria (specs). More formal in nature

Audits - independent evaluation of the status of the project

Inspection Technique Background

Developed by Michael Fagan Student of Deming & Juran Used SQC in software project in 1972 at IBM, Kingston NY Lab Published paper in 1976 First used inspection on Code Later moved on to requirements, design, specifications, etc..

Objectives
Verify that specifications are satisfied Verify conformance to standards Identify deviations from standards and specifications Collect data for improvement

Roles
Inspection Leader Reader Recorder / Scribe Author / Producer Inspector iNfORMA TECHNOLOGIES Ph:23600343. 29

Reviews, Inspections and Walkthroughs

Inspection Leader
Ensure meeting of entry / exit criteria Manage the process Accountable for effectiveness Good Leadership & Interpersonal communication skills Ensure preparedness Responsible for follow-up Ideally not from project

Reader
Understand material Paraphrase while reading Set pace of inspection

Recorder / Scribe
Record errors as detected Classify errors Wait for leader signal before recording After each recording, read out to inspection team for confirmation Read out / present full list to inspection team at the end of the inspection

Producer / Author
Gather and distribute material Provide overview / tutorial on product Provide clarifications Act as another inspector Not be defensive

Inspector
Understand the product Individually do the Inspection Be prepared for the inspection meeting Focus on product, NOT Producer Every body (leader, recorder, author) is an Inspector iNfORMA TECHNOLOGIES Ph:23600343. 30

Reviews, Inspections and Walkthroughs

At least one inspector(other than author) must be an expert on the relevant standards

Inspection Process
Planning Kick-off (Overview) Individual Checking (Preparation) Logging (Inspection meeting) Rework Follow-up

Planning Request for Inspection from author to Inspection Administrator / Inspection Leader Check by Inspection leader on source documents Initial check on the product Decide on Inspector and their roles Fixing date, time & venue Documents Required Products documents, Source Documents Standards, Checklists Procedures Kickoff / Overview Familiarize checkers with the tasks Agree on specific defect searching roles Handout source documents and product documents Answer general questions about the documents Inspection leader may decide to skip kick-off 2-6 days prior to logging meeting Individual Preparation Checking done Individually Complete the checking before the logging meeting Perform specialist role Inform Inspection Leader of any difficulties Decision If the number of defects are extensive, Leader to call off Inspection Return product with logs to Author Escalate to management Author should not use inspection for building the product Logging / Inspection Meeting iNfORMA TECHNOLOGIES Ph:23600343. 31

Reviews, Inspections and Walkthroughs

Hold meeting to develop the final defect list Administration by Leader Start on time Everyone should be prepared & present Call off meeting if any condition is not satisfied

Inspection Meeting Procedure

Reader reads the product (Paraphrasing) Inspectors interject when reader reaches a location where they have defect The point is discussed Focus is defect detection, not person Leader decides to stop discussion Recorder notes the defect on receiving signal from the leader Records the location, description & classification Disposition is determined by the leader Certified To be Re-Examined in the Defects Portion To be Re-Worked all over again Leader fills the Inspection Report

Inspection Process
Rework To be done by the author Keep a cross reference to defect identified Seek clarification, if required Follow Up By Leader Verify all defects are corrected Trace defects to correction Ask for additional rework, if necessary Certify product, if all defects are addressed Product goes to next stage only after certification

Common Pitfalls in Reviews & How to Avoid Them

Participants do not understand the review process / types Training on the process and the roles to be played Reviewers critique the author, not the product Aim is defect detection, not who did it (use of passive voice) iNfORMA TECHNOLOGIES Ph:23600343. 32

Reviews, Inspections and Walkthroughs

Reviews are not planned Plan the reviews (including preparation, meeting, rework phases) Review Meetings drift into problem solving Aim is defect detection, not correction Reviewers are not prepared plan for review preparation and send materials in advance Wrong composition of Review Team Plan the team members - check for participation of affected groups Reviewers focus on style, not on substance follow standard templates, checklists for stylistic issues

Direct / Indirect Benefits

Development productivity improvements Reduction of testing costs and time Maintenance cost reduction Management benefits Deadline benefits Organizational benefits

Templates
Peer To Peer Review Form Fagan Review Form

Inspections and Testing

Inspections and testing are complementary and not opposing verification techniques Both should be used during the V & V process Inspections can check conformance with a specification but not conformance with the customers real requirements Inspections cannot check non-functional characteristics such as performance, usability, etc.

Software Inspections
Involve people examining the source representation with the aim of discovering anomalies and defects Do not require execution of a system so may be used before implementation May be applied to any representation of the system (requirements, design, test data, etc.) Very effective technique for discovering errors

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Reviews, Inspections and Walkthroughs Program Inspections

Formalised approach to document reviews Intended explicitly for defect DETECTION (not correction) Defects may be logical errors, anomalies in the code that might indicate an erroneous condition (e.g. an uninitialised variable) or non-compliance with standards

Inspection Pre-conditions
A precise specification must be available Team members must be familiar with the organisation standards Syntactically correct code must be available An error checklist should be prepared Management must accept that inspection will increase costs early in the software process Management must not use inspections for staff appraisal

Inspection Procedure
System overview presented to inspection team Code and associated documents are distributed to inspection team in advance Inspection takes place and discovered errors are noted Modifications are made to repair discovered errors Re-inspection may or may not be required

Testing versus Inspection

Inspections are strict and close examinations conducted on specifications, design, code, test, and other artifacts. Inspections allow for defect detection, prevention, and isolation Start early in life cycle Testing allows for defect detection Start later in life cycle Inspections are up to 20 times more efficient than testing Code reading detects twice as many defects/hour as testing 80% of development errors were found by inspections Inspections resulted in a 10 x reduction in cost of finding errors

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