Peer reviews are performed on selected work products.
Peer reviews involve a methodical examination of work products by the producers' peers to identify defects for removal and to recommend other changes that are needed.
The peer review is an important and effective engineering method implemented via inspections, structured walkthroughs, or a number of other collegial review methods.Peer reviews are primarily applied to work products developed by the projects, but they can also be applied to other work products such as
documentation and training work products that are typically developed by support groups.
SP 2.1 Prepare for Peer Reviews
Prepare for peer reviews of selected work products.
Preparation activities for peer reviews typically include identifying the staff who will be invited to participate in the peer review of each work product, identifying the key reviewers who must participate in the peer
review, preparing and updating any materials that will be used during the peer reviews (such as checklists and review criteria), and scheduling peer reviews.
Typical Work Products
1. Peer review schedule
2. Peer review checklist
3. Entry and exit criteria for work products
4. Criteria for requiring another peer review
5. Peer review training material
6. Selected work products to be reviewed
Subpractices
1. Determine what type of peer review will be conducted.
Examples of types of peer reviews include the following:
· Inspections
· Structured walkthroughs
· Active reviews
2. Define requirements for collecting data during the peer review.
3. Establish and maintain entry and exit criteria for the peer review.
4. Establish and maintain criteria for requiring another peer review.
5. Establish and maintain checklists to ensure that the work products
Examples of items addressed by the checklists include the following:
· Rules of construction
· Design guidelines
· Completeness
· Correctness
· Maintainability
· Common defect types
The checklists are modified as necessary to address the specific type of work product and peer review. The peers of the checklist developers and potential users review the checklists.
6. Develop a detailed peer review schedule, including the dates for peer review training and for when materials for peer reviews will be available.
7. Ensure that the work product satisfies the peer review entry criteria prior to distribution.
8. Distribute the work product to be reviewed and its related information to the participants early enough to enable participants to adequately prepare for the peer review.
9. Assign roles for the peer review as appropriate.
Examples of roles include the following:
· Leader
· Reader
· Recorder
· Author
10. Prepare for the peer review by reviewing the work product prior to conducting the peer review.
SP 2.2 Conduct Peer Reviews
Conduct peer reviews on selected work products and identify issues resulting from the peer review.
One of the purposes of conducting a peer review is to find and remove defects early. Peer reviews are performed incrementally, as work products are being developed. These reviews are structured and are
not management reviews.
Peer reviews may be performed on key work products of specification, design, test, and implementation activities and specific planning work products.
The focus of the peer review should be on the work product in review, not on the person who produced it.
When issues arise during the peer review, they should be communicated to the primary developer of the work product for correction.
Peer reviews should address the following guidelines: there must be sufficient preparation, the conduct must be managed and controlled, consistent and sufficient data must be recorded (an example is conducting a formal inspection), and action items must be recorded.
Typical Work Products
1. Peer review results
2. Peer review issues
3. Peer review data
Subpractices
1. Perform the assigned roles in the peer review.
2. Identify and document defects and other issues in the work product.
3. Record the results of the peer review, including the action items.
4. Collect peer review data.
5. Identify action items and communicate the issues to relevant stakeholders.
6. Conduct an additional peer review if the defined criteria indicate the need.
7. Ensure that the exit criteria for the peer review are satisfied.
SP 2.3 Analyze Peer Review Data
Analyze data about preparation, conduct, and results of the peer reviews.
Typical Work Products
1. Peer review data
2. Peer review action items
Subpractices
1. Record data related to the preparation, conduct, and results of the peer reviews. Typical data are product name, product size, composition of the peer review team,type of peer review, preparation time per reviewer, length of the review meeting,number of defects found, type and origin of defect, etc. Additional information on the work product being peer reviewed may be collected, such as size,development stage, operating modes examined, and requirements being evaluated.
2. Store the data for future reference and analysis.
3. Protect the data to ensure that peer review data are not used inappropriately.
Examples of inappropriate use of peer review data include using data to evaluate the performance of people and using data for attribution.
4. Analyze the peer review data.
