Participant Roles in Review

Roles will depend on the specific review methodology being followed, that is, structured walkthroughs or inspections. These roles are functional, which implies that it is possible in some reviews for a participant to execute more than one role. The role of the review participants after the review is especially important because many errors identified during a review may not be fixed correctly by the developer. This raises the issue of who should follow up on a review and whether another review is necessary.

The review leader is responsible for the review. This role requires scheduling the review, conducting an orderly review meeting, and preparing the review report. The review leader may also be responsible for ensuring that action items are properly handled after the review process. Review leaders must possess both technical and interpersonal management characteristics. The interpersonal management qualities include leadership ability, mediator skills, and organizational talents. The review leader must keep the review group focused at all times and prevent the meeting from becoming a problem-solving session. Material presented for review should not require the review leader to spend more than two hours for preparation.

The recorder role in the review process guarantees that all information necessary for an accurate review report is preserved. The recorder must understand complicated discussions and capture their essence in action items. The role of the recorder is clearly a technical function and one that cannot be performed by a non-technical individual.

The reviewer role is to objectively analyze the software and be accountable for the review. An important guideline is that the reviewer must keep in mind that it is the software that is being reviewed and not the producer of the software. This cannot be overemphasized. Also, the number of reviewers should be limited to six. If too many reviewers are involved, productivity will decrease.

In a technical review, the producer may actually lead the meeting in an organized discussion of the software. A degree of preparation and planning is needed in a technical review to present material at the proper level and pace. The attitude of the producer is also important, and it is essential that he or she does not become defensive. This can be facilitated by the group leader's emphasizing that the purpose of the inspection is to uncover defects and produce the best product possible.