Software walkthrough
Encyclopedia
In software engineering
, a walkthrough or walk-through is a form of software peer review
"in which a designer or programmer leads members of the development team and other interested parties through a software product, and the participants ask questions and make comments about possible errors, violation of development standards, and other problems".
"Software product" normally refers to some kind of technical document. As indicated by the IEEE definition, this might be a software design document or program source code
, but use cases, business process
definitions, test case
specifications, and a variety of other technical documentation may also be walked through.
A walkthrough differs from software technical reviews
in its openness of structure and its objective of familiarization. It differs from software inspection
in its ability to suggest direct alterations to the product reviewed, its lack of a direct focus on training and process improvement, and its omission of process and product measurement.
s.
A walkthrough is normally organized and directed by the author of the technical document. Any combination of interested or technically qualified personnel (from within or outside the project) may be included as seems appropriate.
IEEE 1028 recommends three specialist roles in a walkthrough:
Software engineering
Software Engineering is the application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the development, operation, and maintenance of software, and the study of these approaches; that is, the application of engineering to software...
, a walkthrough or walk-through is a form of software peer review
Software peer review
In software development, peer review is a type of software review in which a work product is examined by its author and one or more colleagues, in order to evaluate its technical content and quality.-Purpose:...
"in which a designer or programmer leads members of the development team and other interested parties through a software product, and the participants ask questions and make comments about possible errors, violation of development standards, and other problems".
"Software product" normally refers to some kind of technical document. As indicated by the IEEE definition, this might be a software design document or program source code
Source code
In computer science, source code is text written using the format and syntax of the programming language that it is being written in. Such a language is specially designed to facilitate the work of computer programmers, who specify the actions to be performed by a computer mostly by writing source...
, but use cases, business process
Business process
A business process or business method is a collection of related, structured activities or tasks that produce a specific service or product for a particular customer or customers...
definitions, test case
Test case
A test case in software engineering is a set of conditions or variables under which a tester will determine whether an application or software system is working correctly or not. The mechanism for determining whether a software program or system has passed or failed such a test is known as a test...
specifications, and a variety of other technical documentation may also be walked through.
A walkthrough differs from software technical reviews
Software technical review
A software technical review is a form of peer review in which "a team of qualified personnel ... examines the suitability of the software product for its intended use and identifies discrepancies from specifications and standards. Technical reviews may also provide recommendations of alternatives...
in its openness of structure and its objective of familiarization. It differs from software inspection
Software inspection
Inspection in software engineering, refers to peer review of any work product by trained individuals who look for defects using a well defined process...
in its ability to suggest direct alterations to the product reviewed, its lack of a direct focus on training and process improvement, and its omission of process and product measurement.
Process
A walkthrough may be quite informal, or may follow the process detailed in IEEE 1028 and outlined in the article on software reviewSoftware review
A software review is "A process or meeting during which a software product is examined by a project personnel, managers, users, customers, user representatives, or other interested parties for comment or approval"....
s.
Objectives and participants
In general, a walkthrough has one or two broad objectives: to gain feedback about the technical quality or content of the document; and/or to familiarize the audience with the content.A walkthrough is normally organized and directed by the author of the technical document. Any combination of interested or technically qualified personnel (from within or outside the project) may be included as seems appropriate.
IEEE 1028 recommends three specialist roles in a walkthrough:
- The Author, who presents the software product in step-by-step manner at the walk-through meeting, and is probably responsible for completing most action items;
- The Walkthrough Leader, who conducts the walkthrough, handles administrative tasks, and ensures orderly conduct (and who is often the Author); and
- The Recorder, who notes all anomalies (potential defects), decisions, and action items identified during the walkthrough meetings.