What is Technical Review in Software Testing?

A review in software testing, any sort of review, is a worthwhile practice to ensure quality and accuracy. If the test cases you created go through a review process, evidently the mistakes will reduce and the test coverage will improve. Yet conducting reviews is not simply going through the code or the scripts; it involves technical efficiency to understand the business and translate the same into actionable software tests. It can either be peer review or managerial review, but overall, it is a necessary part of the testing process.

Let us guide you through the process of technical review in software testing, which will help you identify critical issues related to the functioning of the product.

What is Technical Review?

Technical review in software testing is a structured evaluation process conducted by technical experts to assess the technical aspects of a software product, such as its design, architecture, code quality, and implementation details. It is a static white-box testing technique, which aims at uncovering technical defects in the early stages of SDLC that are often missed by black box testing.

These reviews typically involve examining documentation, codebase, diagrams, and other artifacts to ensure compliance with established standards, best practices, and requirements.

An example of technical review could be a scenario where a software development team is conducting a code review session for a new feature implementation in a web application. The review involves a group of technical experts, including software architects, senior developers, and testers. During the review, the team examines the codebase, focusing on aspects such as code structure, modularity, error handling, performance optimization, and adherence to coding standards.

Importance of Technical Review in Software Testing

Performing technical review of a software does more than just eliminating issues. It helps in:

• Improving the understanding of the employees as they get a chance to review and provide suggestions.
• Maintaining the software by increasing the developer’s understanding of the product, code base, and any changes that might be introduced.
• Early identification of defects, vulnerabilities, and design flaws in the software development lifecycle.
• Fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing among team members, including developers, testers, architects, and stakeholders by engaging in review discussions.
• Identifying and mitigating risks associated with software development, including technical debt, scalability issues, and performance bottlenecks.
• Providing the feedback and the progression of software development through assessing the review process and its impact on development and testing.

Types of Software Technical Review

Among different types of reviews in software testing, you need to focus primarily on technical review if the goal is to find and solve coding errors. But there are other options you should look at:

• Code Review: A thorough examination of the source code by peers or senior developers to identify defects, improve code quality, ensure adherence to coding standards, and promote knowledge sharing.
• Design Review: Evaluation of the software design documents, including architecture diagrams, system specifications, and interface designs, to validate the design decisions, identify potential design flaws, and ensure alignment with requirements and best practices.
• Requirements Review: Assessment of the software requirements documents to verify completeness, consistency, clarity, and feasibility of the specified requirements.
• Test Plan Review: Review of the test plan document to validate test coverage, test objectives, test strategies, and test techniques.
• Test Case Review: Examination of test cases and test scripts to verify correctness, completeness, clarity, and effectiveness in verifying the functionality and behavior of the software for thorough test coverage and accuracy in test execution.
• Architecture Review: Evaluation of the software architecture, including system architecture diagrams, component interactions, and dependencies, to assess scalability, performance, security, and maintainability of the system design.
• Document Review: Review of various project documents such as user manuals, installation guides, release notes, and technical specifications to ensure accuracy, consistency, and completeness of the documentation deliverables.

Why is Technical Review Necessary?

Besides the basic importance of the technical review process, there are many other reasons why technical review from a business perspective is necessary. Technical reviews help ensure the quality, reliability, and functionality of software products, which directly impacts customer satisfaction and retention. By identifying defects early in the development process, technical reviews help mitigate the risk of costly rework, delays, and potential reputation damage. This proactive approach ultimately contributes to higher customer satisfaction and loyalty, leading to increased revenue and market competitiveness.

Moreover, from an ROI perspective, investing in technical reviews upfront reduces the overall cost of quality by minimizing defects and rework downstream. It also promotes efficient resource utilization and faster time-to-market by streamlining development processes and improving productivity.

Who Participates in the Technical Review Process?

Technical review participants may include software architects, developers, testers, and other relevant stakeholders who collaborate to provide feedback, share insights, and make recommendations for enhancing the technical integrity and quality of the software product.

Goals of the Technical Review

For any practice to be successful, you should have a clear understanding of your goals. You can’t just start conducting a technical review without knowing what you are trying to achieve with this process. Some of the goals of technical review in software development and testing are:

• To identify defects early in the development process to reduce the delivery time and improve the product quality.
• Foster collaboration and knowledge sharing among team members, stakeholders, and subject matter experts to leverage collective expertise, insights, and perspectives.
• Identify opportunities for process improvement, optimization, and standardization to enhance efficiency, effectiveness, and repeatability of software development and testing activities.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, industry standards, and organizational policies by reviewing artifacts for adherence to applicable guidelines, laws, and regulations.
• Provide insights, recommendations, and actionable feedback to stakeholders and decision-makers to support informed decision-making and prioritize corrective actions and improvements.
• Validate and verify the correctness, completeness, consistency, and accuracy of software artifacts, including code, design documents, requirements, test plans, and documentation.

Technical Review Characteristics

Some of the important characteristics of technical review are:

• Technical reviews follow a structured and systematic process, typically involving predefined roles, responsibilities, and review criteria to ensure consistency and effectiveness.
• It is a documented process with a focus on identifying defects, recommendations, and areas for improvement for future reference and action.
• It often does not involve the management.
• Someone who is not the author of the review acts as the moderator.
• Technical reviews may be conducted iteratively throughout the software development lifecycle.

Process of Technical Review

Technical review process is fairly simple and straightforward, which follows the industry standards set by IEEE Standard 1028. The steps are almost the same for all the different types of technical reviews.

• Planning: Define the objectives, scope, and criteria for the review. Establish roles and responsibilities for participants, allocate resources, and schedule review activities.
• Preparation: Reviewers prepare for the review by familiarizing themselves with the artifacts under review, including documentation, requirements, designs, or code. Gather relevant documentation and guidelines to guide the review process.
• Review Meeting: Conduct the review meeting, where reviewers examine the artifacts in detail, focusing on specific aspects such as correctness, completeness, clarity, and adherence to standards. Identify defects, inconsistencies, and areas for improvement.
• Approval: Review and finalize the findings, decisions, and actions taken. Obtain approval from relevant stakeholders to proceed with the next steps in the development process.
• Documentation: Document review outcomes, including review findings, decisions, and actions taken, for future reference and audit purposes. Maintain records of review activities, including artifacts reviewed, participants involved, and review results.

How to do a Technical Review Example with Testsigma?

Among the multiple types of technical reviews we discussed till now, you can conduct test case review using Testsigma.

It is a cloud-based, AI-powered test automation tool that supports automated web application testing, mobile testing, and API testing on its platform. The pre-defined NLPs allow testers to create test cases in Testsigma in simple English.

For test case review, go to Settings -> Preferences and switch on the toggle for the Test Case Review Management.

Toggle the switch on for Test case review management under Settings

Next, choose the test case you want to get reviewed and submit it for review. Go to Test Cases and select the test case for review.

Select the test case for review

Select the reviewer and submit it.

Send the test case for review

Besides sending test cases for review, you can also get the elements reviewed in Testsigma tool directly. Go to Elements under the Create Test Cases section and follow the same steps as above. 

Don’t forget to switch the Element Management Review on under Preferences before you start the review process.

Read about functional elements in Testsigma.

Conclusion

Technical review is a critical part of the development and testing process. Developers and testers around the world rely on their peers and managers to review their code, design, and tests to provide valuable feedback.

Alternatively, providing suggestions to their counterparts further helps them develop an understanding of the project better.

If your business is starting with the technical review process or improving the existing one, consider this blog as your helping hand. Don’t forget to check out the different ways and frameworks to perform the review process while you are at it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is technical review in static testing?

Technical review in static testing involves a structured examination of software artifacts such as code, design documents, or requirements to identify defects, improve quality, and ensure adherence to standards and best practices before dynamic testing begins.

What is technical review in dynamic testing?

Technical review in dynamic testing involves evaluating the technical aspects of a software system during execution. It focuses on analyzing system performance, reliability, scalability, and other technical characteristics under varying conditions, such as load, stress, or concurrency.

What should a technical review include?

A technical review should include a thorough evaluation of software artifacts for correctness, completeness, consistency, adherence to standards, and compliance with requirements. It involves identifying defects, providing feedback, and making recommendations for improvement.

What is technical review in Agile?

In Agile, a technical review typically refers to a collaborative inspection or walkthrough of code, user stories, or other development artifacts during sprint planning, refinement, or review meetings. It aims to ensure alignment with Agile principles, promote continuous improvement, and enhance the quality of deliverables within short development cycles.