Short note on Formal Technical Reviews. (FTR)

Short note on Formal Technical Reviews. (FTR)

• Formal technical review (FTR) is a software quality control activity performed by software engineers (and others).
• The objectives of an FTR are:
• (1) To uncover errors in function, logic, or implementation for any representation of the software;
• (2) To verify that the software under review meets its requirements;
• (3) To ensure that the software has been represented according to predefined standards
• (4) To achieve software that is developed in a uniform manner;
• (5) To make projects more manageable. In addition, the FTR serves as a training ground, enabling junior engineers to observe different approaches to software analysis, design, and implementation
• The FTR is actually a class of reviews that includes walkthroughs and inspections

The Review Meeting:

• Every review meeting should abide by the following constraints:
• Between three and five people (typically) should be involved in the review.
• Advance preparation should occur but should require no more than two hours of work for each person.
• The duration of the review meeting should be less than two hours. Given these constraints, it should be obvious that an FTR focuses on a specific (and small) part of the overall software.
• For example, rather than attempting to review an entire design, walkthroughs are conducted for each component or small group of components.

Review Summary Report

• What was reviewed?
• Who reviewed it?
• What were the findings and conclusions?

The Players of Review Meeting

• Producer—the individual who has developed the work product
• Informs the project leader that the work product is complete and that a review is required.
• Review leader—evaluates the product for readiness, generates copies of product materials, and distributes them to two or three reviewers for advance preparation.
• Reviewer(s)—expected to spend between one and two hours reviewing the product, making notes, and otherwise becoming familiar with the work.
• Recorder— a reviewer who records (in writing) all important issues raised during the review.