Applied Software Project Management

Applied Software Project

Management
Reviews

SantoshSir@SPM_PRIME 1
Applied Software Project Management

When are reviews needed?

• A review is any activity in which a work product is distributed

to reviewers who examine it and give feedback.
• Reviews are useful not only for finding and eliminating defects, but
also for gaining consensus among the project team, securing approval
from stakeholders, and aiding in professional development for team
members.
• Reviews help teams find defects soon after they are injected making
them cost less to fix than they would cost if they were found in test.
• All work products in a software project should be either reviewed or
tested.
• Software requirements specifications, schedules, design documents,
code, test plans, test cases, and defect reports should all be reviewed.

SantoshSir@SPM_PRIME 2
Applied Software Project Management

Types of Review:
Inspections
• Inspections are moderated meetings in which
reviewers list all issues and defects they have found
in the document and log them so that they can be
addressed by the author.
• The goal of the inspection is to repair all of the
defects so that everyone on the inspection team
can approve the work product.
• Commonly inspected work products include software
requirements specifications and test plans.

SantoshSir@SPM_PRIME 3
Applied Software Project Management

Types of Review:
Inspections
• Running an inspection meeting:
1. A work product is selected for review and a team is gathered for an
inspection meeting to review the work product.
2. A moderator is chosen to moderate the meeting.
3. Each inspector prepares for the meeting by reading the work product and
noting each defect.
4. In an inspection, a defect is any part of the work product that will keep an
inspector from approving it.
5. Discussion is focused on each defect, and coming up with a specific
resolution.
• It’s the job of the inspection team to do more than just identify the problems;
they must also come up with the solutions.
6. The moderator compiles all of the defect resolutions into an inspection
log

SantoshSir@SPM_PRIME 4
Applied Software Project Management

Inspection Log Example

SantoshSir@SPM_PRIME 5
Applied Software Project Management

Types of Review:
Deskchecks
• A deskcheck is a simple review in which the author of a work product
distributes it to one or more reviewers.
• The author sends a copy of the work product to selected project team
members. The team members read it, and then write up defects and
comments to send back to the author.

SantoshSir@SPM_PRIME 6
Applied Software Project Management

Types of Review:
Deskchecks
• Unlike an inspection, a deskcheck does not produce
written logs which can be archived with the
document for later reference.
• Deskchecks can be used as predecessors to
inspections.
• In many cases, having an author of a work product pass
his work to a peer for an informal review will significantly
reduce the amount of effort involved in the inspection.

SantoshSir@SPM_PRIME 7
Applied Software Project Management

Types of Review:
Walkthroughs
• A walkthrough is an informal way of presenting a technical
document in a meeting.
• Unlike other kinds of reviews, the author runs the walkthrough:
calling the meeting, inviting the reviewers, soliciting comments and
ensuring that everyone present understands the work product.
• Walkthroughs are used when the author of a work product needs to
take into account the perspective of someone who does not have the
technical expertise to review the document.
• After the meeting, the author should follow up with individual
attendees who may have had additional information or insights. The
document should then be corrected to reflect any issues that were
raised.

SantoshSir@SPM_PRIME 8
Applied Software Project Management

Types of Review:
Code Review
• A code review is a special kind of inspection in
which the team examines a sample of code and
fixes any defects in it.
• In a code review, a defect is a block of code which does
not properly implement its requirements, which does not
function as the programmer intended, or which is not
incorrect but could be improved
• For example, it could be made more readable or its performance
could be improved

SantoshSir@SPM_PRIME 9
Applied Software Project Management

Types of Review:
Code Review
• It’s important to review the code which is most likely to have defects.
This will generally be the most complex, tricky or involved code.
• Good candidates for code review include:
• A portion of the software that only one person has the expertise to
maintain
• Code that implements a highly abstract or tricky algorithm
• An object, library or API that is particularly difficult to work with
• Code written by someone who is inexperienced or has not written that
kind of code before, or written in an unfamiliar language
• Code which employs a new programming technique
• An area of the code that will be especially catastrophic if there are
defects

SantoshSir@SPM_PRIME 10
Applied Software Project Management

Types of Review:
Pair Programming
• Pair programming is a technique in which two programmers
work simultaneously at a single computer and continuously
review each others’ work.
• Although many programmers were introduced to pair
programming as a part of Extreme Programming, it is a
practice that can be valuable in any development
environment.
• Pair programming improves the organization by ensuring
that at least two programmers are able to maintain any
piece of the software.

SantoshSir@SPM_PRIME 11
Applied Software Project Management

Types of Review:
Pair Programming
• In pair programming, two programmers sit at one computer to write
code. Generally, one programmer will take control and write code, while
the other watches and advises.
• Some teams have found that pair programming works best for them if the
pairs are constantly rotated; this helps diffuse the shared knowledge
throughout the organization. Others prefer to pair a more junior person with
a more senior for knowledge sharing.
• The project manager should not try to force pair programming on the
team; it helps to introduce the change slowly, and where it will meet the
least resistance.
• It is difficult to implement pair programming in an organization where the
programmers do not share the same nine-to-five (or ten-to-six) work
schedule.
• Some people do not work well in pairs, and some pairs do not work well
together.

SantoshSir@SPM_PRIME 12