Wednesday, December 22, 2010

What’s the difference between Inspections and Walkthroughs?

A walkthrough is an informal meeting for evaluation or informational purposes. A walk through is also a process at an abstract level. It's the process of inspecting software code by following paths through the code (as determined by input conditions and choices made along the way). The purpose of code walkthroughs is to ensure the code fits the purpose. Walkthroughs also offer opportunities to assess an individual or team's competency.

An inspection is a formal meeting more formalized than a walkthrough and typically consists of 3-10 people including a moderator reader (the author of whatever is being reviewed) and a recorder (to make notes in the document). The subject of the inspection is typically a document such as a requirements document or a test plan. The purpose of an inspection is to find problems and see what is missing not to fix anything. The result of the meeting should be documented in a written report. Attendees should prepare for this type of meeting by reading through the document before the meeting starts; most problems are found during this preparation. Preparation for inspections is difficult but is one of the most cost-effective methods of ensuring quality since bug prevention is more cost effective than bug detection

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