3.3 Review Process and Roles
Key Takeaways
- A structured review process commonly includes planning, initiation, individual review, communication and analysis, fixing, and reporting.
- Individual preparation is where reviewers identify anomalies, questions, and improvement suggestions.
- Communication and analysis decides whether anomalies are defects and what follow-up actions are needed.
- Principal review roles include manager, author, moderator, scribe, reviewer, and review leader.
- CTFL questions often test role responsibility rather than job title.
The Review Flow
A review is not just a meeting. In CTFL terms, a formal or semi-formal review has activities before and after any group discussion. The process can be tailored, but the logic is stable: decide what will be reviewed, prepare participants, examine the work product, analyze findings, fix confirmed problems, and report results.
| Activity | Main purpose | Exam clue |
|---|---|---|
| Planning | Define scope, objectives, criteria, effort, timing, and standards | What are we reviewing and why? |
| Review initiation | Make sure participants have access, roles, and supporting material | Are people ready to begin? |
| Individual review | Reviewers inspect the work product and log anomalies or questions | Private preparation and notes |
| Communication and analysis | Discuss findings, classify anomalies, assign actions | Meeting, decision, ownership |
| Fixing and reporting | Correct defects, track actions, communicate results | Follow-up, closure, metrics |
Individual review matters because it prevents group discussion from becoming the first time anyone reads the material. Reviewers can use checklists, scenarios, perspectives, or risk focus areas. The output may include anomalies, questions, recommendations, and possible defects.
During communication and analysis, not every anomaly becomes a defect. A reviewer may misunderstand a domain rule. A comment may be an improvement suggestion, not a required correction. The group decides status, ownership, and next action. For high-formality reviews, decisions and metrics are recorded.
Roles are a frequent exam target. The manager decides what will be reviewed and provides resources. The author creates the work product and fixes confirmed defects. The moderator, or facilitator, runs the review meeting and protects an effective environment. The scribe records anomalies, decisions, and review information. Reviewers examine the product. The review leader takes overall responsibility for organizing the review.
One person may hold more than one role in some contexts, but do not merge responsibilities on the exam unless the question allows it. A senior developer who wrote the code is still the author for that work product. A business analyst who examines acceptance criteria is a reviewer. A test manager who provides time and people is acting as manager.
The exam also likes role traps. The moderator does not automatically fix the product. The scribe does not decide what must be reviewed. The author should not dominate the conversation defensively. The review leader organizes the review, while the moderator focuses on effective facilitation when a meeting is held.
During a review meeting, one person records new anomalies, decisions, and action items. Which review role is this person performing?
Which activities belong to a typical structured review process? Select all that apply.
Select all that apply