To create a new review, click the "New Review" toolbar button:
You can also click on the "New Review" button on the main menu on the "Home" page.
You will see a form in the Review Creation Wizard:
Template
If you have multiple templates configured under "Review Templates," the first box you will see is the Template box:
If there is only one configured template, you will not be given the option of selecting a template; the single template will be applied automatically. The first box you will see then is "Basic Information."
You also have to supply a title for the review. The title is used all over the place -- in Action Items, in notification emails, to web page titles, and so forth. Make the title brief but descriptive. Titles do not have to be unique in the system; reviews already have a unique ID that is assigned by the server. (In the example given above, the unique ID is "12" and identified by the red circle)
If the enterprise organization is configured, you must choose an organization to attribute your review to. If the Enterprise Organization is not configured, the field will not be shown.
The next field will be the overview field. Here, you can enter anything to describe the review in more detail. This field is optional and does not have to be filled out if you'd like to leave it empty.
The system administrator has the ability to require that all reviews be restricted. In this case you will not be given the option.
You can also restrict uploads to the review by limiting who can upload files into the review. If this setting is set to "Yes," only the creator and the administrators will be allowed to upload files.
If you have previously created reviews, you can also choose the same custom field setting as your previous review by clicking the Copy Previous button next to the Delete Review option.
The next step is to invite people to the review and give each of them a role to play:
The administrator has complete control over the number of roles, what they're called, what they mean, the help text in the yellow box at the top of the screen, and the rules about what each role is allowed to see and do. Therefore it's hard to give much information about the roles here.
| • | Author: The person responsible for the files under review and probably responsible for fixing any defects that are found. |
| • | Reviewer: Responsible for finding defects; is allowed to mark defects "fixed;" the review isn't finished until all reviewers say it's finished. |
| • | Observer: Invited to the review but if all other participants are finished the review is complete. Useful when this user isn't available just now and you don't want to wait for him to show up. |
| • | Moderator: Controls the pace and flow of the review; coordinates other people and decides when the review changes phases. |
Each invitee can be assigned only one role. However, you can invite as many people as you want and there can be more than one user in any role (unless the administrator has configured things otherwise).
You can select each user and role individually through the drop-down menu, or start typing the name of the user in the appropriate field to narrow down the user list. User/role combinations you've used recently will also appear under "Recent Participants." This makes it easy and fast to select common combinations, especially if you have a long user list.
Any number and type of file can be uploaded into the review. These include but are not limited to:
| • | Local file changes not yet checked into version control |
| • | Changes already checked into version control |
| • | Differences between files on your disk |
| • | Files from your local disk |
| • | Review checklists and test scripts |
| • | Requirements and architecture specifications |
| • | Images |
The most common way to get files attached to a review is to use one of the client components: Command Line Client, GUI Client, Eclipse Plug-in, or Perforce Plug-in. All of these clients can integrate with version control and/or easily upload local files or file-differences to the server.
Local changes from files controlled by Subversion have been uploaded into this review via client.
It's also possible to upload local files from the web browser. You can attach a changelist that has already been entered in Code Collaborator or a supporting document file. Just click the "Attach Changelist" or the "Attach File" button indicated by the red arrows below:
A pop-up box should appear, prompting you to attach a changelist/file:
Once you have attached your document, the attached documents will be listed.
The last step lets you actually start the review:
You will have three buttons to click.
By clicking "Apply," you will apply the current changes that you have made, and you will remain on the current page, allowing you to continue making changes.
By clicking "Apply and Annotate," you will apply the current changes, and the browser will take you to the main review screen so that you may annotate the review materials. However, you will be the only person viewing and editing the review until you click "Begin Review." This means you can go around to each of the files and leave comments for other users to see. We have shown this to be an effective way of finding your own defects, thereby making the actual review more efficient for the other reviewers.
Click "Apply and Begin Review" to begin the review. Until this point no one else has seen the review in their Action Items, and no notifications have been sent out. As soon as you click the button, the review will start.
If you go to this step without having properly completed the steps before, you will see explanatory error messages in red:
To cancel a review before it begins, use the Delete Review button on the top right of the "Basic Information" box:
