Review Process

Reviews vary from very informal to formal. 

Although inspection is perhaps the most documented and formal review technique, it is certainly not the only one. 

The formality of a review process is related to factors such as :

• the maturity of the development process
• any legal or regulatory requirements or 
• the need for an audit trail. 

Informal Review 

In practice the informal review is perhaps the most common type of review. Informal reviews are applied at various times during the early stages in the life cycle of a document. 

A two-person team can conduct an informal review, as the author can ask a colleague to review a document or code. 

In later stages these reviews often involve more people and a meeting. 

This normally involves peers of the author, who try to find defects in the document under review and discuss these defects in a review meeting. 

The goal is to help the author and to improve the quality of the document.

Informal reviews come in various shapes and forms, but all have one characteristic in common - they are not documented.

Formal Review 

In contrast to informal reviews, formal reviews follow a formal process. 

A typical formal review process consists of six main steps:

1. Planning
2. Kick-off
3. Preparation
4. Review meeting
5. Rework
6. Follow-up.