Case #2: Developing and delivering standardized Peer Review process training world-wide

A global technology company contacted Cheryl to work with them to update their peer review process documentation and training and deliver it to world-wide teams. The challenges we faced included:

• Engineer and technical staff lack of interest and grudging acceptance of the peer review process in general.
• Variability in the implementation of peer reviews in different parts of the organization. Some implementations were very lax while others were viewed as being too rigid.
• Managers and executives were unclear on how to interpret and use the peer review process data.
• The peer review training materials lacked current examples and motivational success stories.

Cheryl worked with an internal process improvement team to evaluate the current training materials, recommend, and implement changes to broaden the acceptance and enable practical and consistent application of peer reviews throughout the organization. Her responsibilities and accomplishments included:

• Developing new course materials for two short workshops tailored for technical engineers and software developers --- one for general consumption and one for software inspection moderators and process leaders.
• Simplifying the peer review process descriptions and including the information in the training materials.
• Working with intact teams to practice using peer reviews and demonstrate their value on current projects.
• Assisting process owners throughout the organization to assess and meet their training needs, including developing materials tailored for special groups.
• Pioneered video conferencing for simultaneous peer review training delivery in multiple locations.

As a result, the updated course and peer review process descriptions are available for delivery by internal and external consultants. Peer review training continues to be delivered several times each year at different locations. The peer review process has become a standard best practice throughout the organization enabling the identification and correction of most major defects in software prior to testing, thus reducing rework and improving time to market.