SmartBear's PeerReview Complete 2012 Manages Document Review Process

SmartBear Software recently released PeerReview Complete™ 2012, and claims that it completely change the way software development teams perform code and technical document reviews with smart comment tracking, threaded conversations and electronic signatures. PeerReview Complete enables faster and more accurate reviews for organizations that author technical documents using Microsoft® Word.

Unlike Microsoft Word, PeerReview Complete is built for performing peer reviews of documents created during the software development lifecycle. Review capabilities for documents authored in Microsoft Word enable teams to review critical documents and code whenever they wish. Even better, PeerReview Complete eliminates document author and reviewer pain points that manifest from using a word processing product as a review tool:

Managing and annotating individual document versions and feedback within multiple document copies
Confusing and complicated email threads of reviews and comments
Risks from missing document “defects” that have been deleted by reviewers

PeerReview Complete incorporates functions designed to effectively manage and track the review process:

Smart comment tracking manages the flow of text changes as documents are edited enabling reviewers to see and take action on comments made between document versions. Unlike Word, comments and feedback are permanently logged.
Threaded, contextual conversations act like newsgroups when users review asynchronously and instant messaging when users review code and documents concurrently.
Electronic signatures and custom metrics support audit trails and regulatory compliance mandates.

Jack Ganssle, The Ganssle Group, said, “In the embedded space, developers work in environments that demand the early detection of problems. That’s why code review gets a lot of mindshare. But it’s also true that defects are introduced in the development process through document-based artifacts. Until now, tools for performing document reviews have been lacking. SmartBear’s approach to performing document reviews, in a similar way to performing code reviews, will be a significant time-to-market and quality time saver.

Thomas Murphy, Research Director, Gartner, Inc., said, “While traditional software requirements management systems provide many features to aid requirements projects, the majority of the market still relies on tools such as word processing, leaving them without ways to address the key issues that hinder efficient and accurate peer reviews. Document artifacts such as requirements, specifications, test plans, and marketing collateral are under constant evolution during product development. Too often information gets dropped, or worse, there are multiple, different versions of the same document. With increasing pressure to deliver faster, it is critical to have tools that enable effective collaboration.”

All members of the software project team (including product managers/owners, QA, support, documentation and marketing) can use SmartBear’s advanced techniques for artifact review. PeerReview Complete extends the features, third-party integrations, and the simplified review experience of SmartBear’s flagship code review tool, CodeCollaborator(TM), into collaborative document review. By procuring one tool for the effective review of code and technical documents, organizations can reap extensive benefits that result from peer review.

Visit the SmartBear website or view the complete press release.