Page 31 - The Art of Designing Embedded Systems

18 THE ART OF DESIGNING EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

then gets a deep look inside the company’s code, and an understanding of
how the code operates.
It’s tempting to reduce the team size by sharing roles. Bear in mind
that Bull HN found four-person inspection teams to be twice as efficient
and twice as effective as three-person teams. A Code Inspection with three
people (perhaps using the Author as the Recorder) surely beats none at all,
but do try to fill each role separately.

The Process
Code Inspections are a process consisting of several steps; all are re-
quired for optimal results. The steps, shown in Figure 2-3, are as follows:

Planning-When the code compiles cleanly (no errors or warning
messages), and after it passes through Lint (if used) the Author submits
listings to the Moderator, who forms an inspection team. The Moderator
distributes listings to each team member, as well as other related docu-
ments such as design requirements and documentation. The bulk of the
Planning process is done by the Moderator, who can use email to coordi-
nate with team members. An effective Moderator respects the time con-
straints of his or her colleagues and avoids interrupting them.
Overview-This optional step is a meeting when the inspection team
members are not familiar with the development project. The Author pro-

ers

FIGURE 2-3 The Code Inspection process.