Type of FTR

"... review methods can be placed into one of three general categories characterized by the strategy that drives the review process:

Formal reviews.

In a formal review, the author of the work product or one of the reviewers familiar with the work product introduces it to the rest of the reviewers. The flow of the review is driven by the presentation and issues raised by the reviewers.

Walkthroughs

Walkthroughs are usually used to examine source code as opposed to design and requirements documents. The participants do a step-by-step, line-by-line simulation of the code. The author of the code is usually present to answer participants' questions.

Inspections.

In an inspection, a list of criteria the software must satisfy determines the flow of the review. While walkthroughs and formal reviews are generally biased toward error detection, inspections are often used to establish additional properties such as portability and adherence to standards. A reviewer may be supplied with a checklist of items, or he or she may only be informed of the desired property. Inspections are also used to check for particular errors that have been prevalent in the past." ^2.18

The type of FTR used depends upon many factors: goal of the review, available time, level of rigor desired, sociology, etc. What worked for one group or in one situation may not necessarily work in another. The bottom line is improving quality .