Friday, April 24, 2009

What are Peer Reviews?

Peer Review

The main idea of peer review is to remove defects from the software work products early and efficiently. Peer reviews involve a systematic check of software work products by the producer's peers in order to identify defects and areas where changes are needed.

In the SEI CMM, peer reviews are a key process are for the defined level, level 3. The goals are that peer review activities are planned and that defects in the software work products are identified and removed. The purpose of peer reviews is to remove the defects from the software work products early and efficiently.

1. Peer reviews are planned, and the plan are documented.
2. Peer reviews are performed according to the documented procedure. This procedure typically specifies that peer reviews are led by trained moderators, review materials are distributed in advance, reviewers have assigned roles, readiness and completion criteria are specified and enforced, and actions are tracked through resolution.

Data on the conduct and results of peer review are recorded. Examples of data include software work product identifier, size of the work product, size and composition of the review team, preparation time per reviewer, length of the review meeting, types and number of defects found and fixed and rework effort. [Source]

Also See:

Technical Review
Importance of Review
Pair Programming Review
Types of Review Process Structures
Difference between Formal & Informal Reviews
Deciding Whether to do Formal or Informal Reviews
Software Design Reviews
Formal Review & Informal Review
Walkthrough and Inspection
Software Management Reviews
Test Case review
Code Review