General Considerations:
- All review types contribute to defect detection; selection depends on project needs, available resources, product type, risks, business domain, and company culture.
- A single work product may undergo multiple review types, and the order may vary.
Informal Review (e.g., buddy check, pairing, pair review):
- Main purpose: Detect potential defects.
- Additional purposes: Generate new ideas, quickly solve minor problems.
- Informal, not based on a formal process.
- May not involve a review meeting.
- Performable by a colleague (buddy check) or multiple people.
- Results may be documented.
- Varies in usefulness depending on reviewers.
- Use of checklists is optional.
- Common in Agile development.
Walkthrough:
- Main purposes: Find defects, improve the software product, consider alternative implementations, evaluate conformance.
- Additional purposes: Exchange ideas, training, achieve consensus.
- Individual preparation optional.
- Review meeting led by the author.
- Scribe is mandatory.
- Use of checklists is optional.
- May take forms like scenarios, dry runs, or simulations.
- Potential defect logs and review reports are produced.
- Varies from informal to formal.
Technical Review:
- Main purposes: Gain consensus, detect potential defects.
- Additional purposes: Evaluate quality, build confidence, generate ideas, motivate authors.
- Reviewers are technical peers and experts.
- Individual preparation is required.
- Optional review meeting, ideally led by a trained facilitator.
- Scribe is mandatory (not the author).
- Use of checklists is optional.
- Potential defect logs and review reports are produced.
Inspection:
- Main purposes: Detect defects, evaluate quality, build confidence, prevent future defects.
- Additional purposes: Motivate authors, improve the development process, achieve consensus.
- Follows a defined process with formal documented outputs.
- Uses defined roles (mandatory), may include a dedicated reader.
- Individual preparation is required.
- Reviewers are peers or relevant experts.
- Specified entry and exit criteria are used.
- Scribe is mandatory.
- Review meeting led by a trained facilitator (not the author).
- Author cannot act as the review leader, reader, or scribe.
- Potential defect logs and review report are produced.
- Metrics collected for process improvement, including the inspection process.