3. Guidance

NASA-STD 2202-93, NASA Software Formal Inspection Standard, is currently being updated and revised to include lessons that have been learned by practitioners over the last decade. Included in this Standard are several best practices for performing inspections on the different software plans, including the recommended minimum content of checklists, which perspectives to be included in the inspection team, and the inspection rate.

The presence and participation of project management in peer review/inspection meetings are usually not recommended due to the potential negative impact to the effectiveness of the inspections. However, since the project management for both the software and the system are often the stakeholders of the work products examined (in the context of this requirement), they may be included as participants of the inspections only when necessary. In such situations, both the management and the other inspectors must be aware that defects found during inspections are never to be used for evaluating the authors.

NPR 7150.2 contains specific software documentation requirements for these plans. These content requirements are a basis of checklists as well as additional quality criteria relevant to inspections:

Additional guidance related to peer reviews and inspections may be found in the following related requirements in this Handbook:

4. Small Projects

No additional guidance is available for small projects. The community of practice is encouraged to submit guidance candidates for this paragraph.

5. Resources

6. Lessons Learned

The effectiveness of inspections for defect detection and removal in any artifact has been amply demonstrated. Data from numerous organizations have shown that a reasonable rule of thumb is that a well-performed inspection typically removes between 60 percent and 90 percent of the existing defects, regardless of the artifact type