2.4 The Design Review

When IT finishes designing the project it is necessary to have an IT design review. A design review is conducted in front of a panel of senior members of the company s IT staff. Design reviews confirm that the project s design is reasonable, obtainable, efficient, and realistic. If the company is small or all of its expertise in a particular area was used to design the document, it is recommended that an outside expert(s) who has yet to see the design be brought in to review the project s design.

Many projects hit snags in Development, QA, Beta, and after they are released because the designer did not have an objective professional review the Design Document and confirm that the design was appropriate before development began . No matter what the size of the company, a design flaw found up front saves money down the line. Guidelines need to be developed in order to have successful design reviews. Most designers are threatened by design reviews. Designers may have spent up to a year designing a project and resent an outsider reviewing what they have done. Don t let this resistance stop the company from reviewing the design. Don t let a designer s status cause this requirement to be waved. Senior designers can also overlook things. To make design reviews a positive experience the following tips are recommended: (1) Apply design reviews to everyone. Singling out a designer or an IT group creates bad feelings; (2) Provide the designers with a list of what will be looked for up front. This helps the review panel and the designers being reviewed; (3) Go over the purpose of the review with the designers and the review panel; (4) Provide a neutral facilitator; (5) Make this an enjoyable process. A designer can show a mature talent by coming in with a well-thought design.

It is necessary for IT to identify up front what the review panel will look for. For instance, if the project is responsible for developing a hardware solution, the design panel will be told to look for solutions that use easily found parts. The designers will know they will be asked to justify the parts they have chosen . If a piece of hardware needs to be specially ordered or the part has been announced but is not currently on the market, the review committee will know this is high risk and may ask the designer to identify a different solution. The designers will know up front what questions will be asked. Anticipating these questions will provide the designer with the time to identify how to defend his design ideas and will make him accountable for doing his homework up front.

2.4 in a Nutshell

After a project has been designed an experienced person or a panel of experienced people should review the design.

• A design review confirms the project s design is reasonable, obtainable, efficient, and realistic.

• A design review allows an objective professional to review the project s design and assure it is appropriate before the application is created or the hardware and software are ordered.

• Design reviews catch errors before they turn into serious problems, saving money in the long run.