Walkthrough

A static analysis technique in which a designer or programmer leads members of the development team and other interested parties through a segment of documentation or code, and the participants ask questions and make comments about possible errors, violation of development standards, and other problems.

The objectives of Walkthrough can be summarized as follows:

• Detect errors early.
• Ensure (re)established standards are followed:
• Train and exchange technical information among project teams which participate in the walkthrough.
• Increase the quality of the project, thereby improving morale of the team members.

The participants in Walkthroughs assume one or more of the following roles:

a) Walk-through leader

b) Recorder

c) Author

d) Team member

To consider a review as a systematic walk-through, a team of at least two members shall be assembled. Roles may be shared among the team members. The walk-through leader or the author may serve as the recorder. The walk-through leader may be the author.

Individuals holding management positions over any member of the walk-through team shall not participate in the walk-through.
Input to the walk-through shall include the following:

• A statement of objectives for the walk-through
• The software product being examined
• Standards that are in effect for the acquisition, supply, development, operation, and/or maintenance of the software product

Input to the walk-through may also include the following:

• Any regulations, standards, guidelines, plans, and procedures against which the software product is to be inspected
• Anomaly categories

The walk-through shall be considered complete when

• The entire software product has been examined
• Recommendations and required actions have been recorded
• The walk-through output has been completed