ACTIVE DESIGN REVIEWS: PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES.

Although many new software design techniques have emerged in the past 15 years, there have been few changes to the procedures for reviewing the designs produced using these techniques. The authors describe an improved technique for reviewing designs based on the following ideas: (1) The efforts of each reviewer should be focused on those aspects of the design that suit his experience and expertise. (2) The characteristics of the reviewers needed should be explicitly specified before reviewers are selected. (3) Reviewers should be asked to make positive assertions about the design rather than simply allowed to point out defects. (4) The designers should pose questions to the reviewers, rather than vice versa. These questions should be posed on a set of questionnaires that require careful study of some aspect of the design. (5) Interaction between designers and reviewers should occur in small meetings involving 2-4 people rather than meetings of large groups.