Review Styles

Pre-commit workflow implies reviewing files in Collaborator before they go to the main branch of your SCM repository. This reduces the chance of files with issues making it to the repository and affecting work of other members of your team. However, such workflow is slower because the author is locked from working on the files before they are reviewed.

Post-commit workflow implies reviewing files in Collaborator after they go to the main branch of your SCM repository. This allows the author to continue working on the files while they are being reviewed. However, this means that unapproved files are committed to the repository, potentially causing issues to other members of your team.

A hybrid approach is possible, when major changes must be reviewed before they are committed to the repository, and minor changes can be committed without having been reviewed.

Below are some guidelines for how to structure different types of reviews as well as some settings to consider depending on the formality requirements.

Quick & Easy: generally, these are the types of reviews done when not a lot of formality is required. The review process typically includes:

• Very few participants. Minimally, one Author and at least one Reviewer.

• A limited number of custom fields.

• No requirement for participants to Mark Read all comments.

• No Moderators (special persons who lead and control the review).

Formal Inspection: formal inspections require specific processes to be followed. Often this is driven by regulations or the need for an audit trail. Formal Inspections typically include:

• Moderators (special persons who lead and control the review).

• Multiple review participants including Reviewers and Observers (subject matter experts).

• Custom fields for capturing additional details.

• Requirements for Moderators and Authors to Mark Read all comments.

Document Review: reviewing documents can be as informal or formal as is needed. Most often, the type of document is what drives the formality of the review. Here are some key Collaborator functionality items to consider:

• Set the number of Reviewers required to participate in the review.

• Make sure that the file name does not change. Do not append anything like _v2 to the next revision of the file.

• Create a unique template that contains Roles, Custom Fields and Automatic links that are important for document review.

• Learn how to use the zoom, scroll and lock options.

Safety Critical: this is the most formal of all the review processes. Basically, you build a template based on the Formal Inspection template. For example, you can:

• Create additional custom fields for capturing data.

• Enable Electronic signatures for final signoff.

• Require that all the participants Mark Read all comments.

• Enable Checklists so that nothing is overlooked.

• Archive the review using Save to ZIP.