03-Formal Technical Review

• Formal technical review
  • [[#Formal technical review#Objectives of FTR|Objectives of FTR]]
  • [[#Formal technical review#Review Meeting Constraints|Review Meeting Constraints]]
  • [[#Formal technical review#Reporting and Record keeping|Reporting and Record keeping]]
  • [[#Formal technical review#Guidelines|Guidelines]]

Formal technical review

1. software quality control activity performed by engineers
2. An organized, methodical procedure for assessing and raising the standard of any technical paper, including software object
3. main objectives of a formal technical review
   1. Finding flaws
   2. making sure standards are followed
   3. improving the product or document under review’s overall quality
4. Purpose: enable junior developers to observe the analysis , design , coding and testing approach closely
5. Each FTR is conducted as a meeting and is considered successful only if its properly planned , controlled and attended

Objectives of FTR

1. Identify defects : in technical objects, find and fix mistakes and inconsistencies and deviations
2. Quality assurance : ensure high quality product and confirm compliance with whole project specifications and Standards
3. Risk mitigation : To stop risks from getting worse, proactively identify and manage possible threats
4. Knowledge Sharing: Encourage team members to work together and build a common knowledge base
5. Consistency and Compliance: Verify that all procedures, coding standards, and policies are followed

Example - Suppose during the development of the software without FTR ,

• design cost 10 units
• coding cost 15 units
• testing cost 10 units total cost till now is 35 units If there was a quality issue because of bad design so to fix it we have to redesign the software and final cost will become 70 units. thus FTR helps fix it before it gets worse

Review Meeting Constraints

1. 3-5 people involved
2. preparation, but not longer than 2 hours per person
3. Meeting durations should be less than 2 hours
4. At the end , decide what to do:
   1. Accept the product without any modification
   2. Reject the project due to serious error ( fix and schedule another review)
   3. Accept the product provisional ( minor errors, should be corrected, no additional review)

Reporting and Record keeping

1. During the FTR, the reviewer actively records all issues that have been raised
2. At end all are consolidated and review list is made
3. finally FTR summary report is produced

Guidelines

1. Review the product, not the manufacturer (producer)
2. Set an agenda and maintain it
3. Take written notes (record purpose)
4. Limit the number of participants and insist upon preparation
5. Develop a checklist for each product that is likely to be reviewed