Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!bellcore!dduck!duncan
From: duncan@dduck.ctt.bellcore.com (Scott Duncan)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Re: code reviews
Message-ID: <16925@bellcore.bellcore.com>
Date: 19 Jun 89 14:38:24 GMT
References: <12047@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU> <116@opel.UUCP>
Sender: news@bellcore.bellcore.com
Reply-To: duncan@ctt.bellcore.com (Scott Duncan)
Lines: 39

In article <116@opel.UUCP> johnk@opel.UUCP (John Kennedy) writes:
>
>I can't help but chuckle when I see code reviews and productivity in the
>same paragraph.  It's good for the project, it's what the customer wants,
>but be assured that it's an increase in overhead and a decrease in productivity.

I suppose that in terms of getting the initial release of the system out of
implementation and into system testing (or out the door) that this is true.
However, the contention of code reviews is that they assist in the quality
(and reliability) of the code and that the code meets customer expectations
more adequately.

The experimental results and industry experience to which I have been exposed
(at a number of companies, large and small) suggests that such reviews (in-
cluding design reviews) tend to a more stable, less error-prone system over its
lifecycle.  Systems in the field also tend to cost many orders of magnitude
more to fix than to have had corrected in implementation.

People also point to the fact that such reviews are educational, provide more
visibility to the programming effort, and engender a sense of responsibility
for the system (not just an individual's piece of it) across the project.

It also seems true that people who have "customers" think about and are con-
cerned with quality issues while those who have "users" are more affected by
productivity.  Productivity, ultimately, is an internal concern while quality
is an external one.  As someone noted within the last week (and I paraphrase):
in a year, they won't remember how fast you delivered it, just how good it is.

And while there are definitely market considerations when it comes to releasing
a product, I'd say they have to be accounted for by factoring such reviews (and
other quality efforts) into the schedules.  I would say that in the short-term,
the claims of overhead and productivity "loss" could be substantiated.  But in
terms of satisfaction with the product, long-term cost, and productivity gains
in less maintenance, I'd have to say such reviews end up being worth it.

Speaking only for myself, of course, I am...
Scott P. Duncan (duncan@ctt.bellcore.com OR ...!bellcore!ctt!duncan)
                (Bellcore, 444 Hoes Lane  RRC 1H-210, Piscataway, NJ  08854)
                (201-699-3910 (w)   201-463-3683 (h))