1. Dr. Rob Hasker
SE 3800 Note 9 Reviews

2. Definition of Done
Item check in
Builds
Tests pass
Item reviewed

3. Types of reviews Sprint review Reviews for pull requests
Discuss which PBIs done, which not done
Demonstrate from master
Feedback from demonstrations
Ensure know priorities going forward
Reviews for pull requests
Execute tests
Prioritize! Can’t move to done without.
Might not comment on every one, but should comment on some
Consider introducing staging environment
Define staging environment

4. Formal reviews of artifacts
Separate from sprint review
Especially typical in plan-based processes
Types
Personal: desk check to find logic errors in code
Consider doing before running code – will find more errors!
Internal: find errors before clients
Signoff: client accepts artifact, possibly with changes
High profile: attended by VPs, program management
These are typically status updates, project direction discussions
Expectations
Checking quality, content
Design: all non-functional requirements covered
Code: quality, ensure logic
Tests: coverage, correctness
Frequently: knowledge transfer

5. Issues with formal reviews
Temptation: equate review & grading
More errors: lower grade!
Problem: discourages finding errors…
Temptation: fix errors during review
Engineers like to fix things…
Temptation: have everyone on the team at the review
# errors found ∝ number of eyes present?
I.e., more people means more errors found?
Temptation: review everything at once
We hate doing it, so git it done…

6. Robust formal reviews Review the product, not the producer
Constructive tone, not an inquisition
Producer likely the one to find the most problems!
Do not use review results for simple evaluation
Set an agenda and maintain it
Leader must ensure this
Limit debate
If there’s disagreement, record the issue and move on
Further discussion can happen off-line
Reviews are expensive!
… where the goal is to find errors.

7. Effective reviews Identify problems, don’t try to solve them
Short discussion can be fine, but don’t let it bog down the review
Very few good decisions are developed during meetings!
Generating ideas is important and useful during a brain-storming session, but a review is not a brain-storming session
Take written notes
If rely on people’s memories, important decisions will be forgotten

8. Effective reviews Use a checklist Limit the number of participants
< three: not enough heads to see problems
Too many: meeting can get bogged down easily
Too many cooks spoil the soup
Formal reviews w/ customer: likely to have more people present, but don’t expect as many errors to be found!
Use a checklist
Helps keep review focused
Allocate, schedule time for reviews
They don’t happen if just “slide them in” to other work

9. Effective reviews Use a checklist Limit the number of participants
< three: not enough heads to see problems
Too many: meeting can get bogged down easily
Too many cooks spoil the soup
Formal reviews w/ customer: likely to have more people present, but don’t expect as many errors to be found!
Use a checklist
Helps keep review focused
Allocate, schedule time for reviews
They don’t happen if just “slide them in” to other work
Almost always: participants
expected to review items
before meetings and post action items.

10. Effective reviews Limit review sessions to 1-2 hours Train for reviews
Longer: review loses effectiveness quickly
Difficult to schedule long meetings
Large documents: break into pieces, review separately
Train for reviews
Ensure engineers know how to conduct a review
Key issue: review product, not producer
Review early reviews
Make sure your reviews are effective!

11. Review Team Roles Review leader Producer Recorder Reviewers
(Some would call this an inspection team)
Review leader
Invites reviewers, possibly including customer
Ensures materials published before review
Ensures review session stays on track
Producer
Person(s) who created document
Recorder
Record notes from review so issues not lost
Generally one of the reviewers
a non-technical person probably won't be able to follow the discussion adequately
Reviewers

12. Reviews Reviews, inspections Ensuring reviews are effective
Possible exercise: review tests (exercise 8)