How to Run Successful Specification Reviews

“He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that.”

- John Stuart Mill, On Liberty

In the previous chapter, you learned how to develop an excellent feature specification from a short description given by a product owner. However, even with all those details added, your test plan is incomplete. So far, the only inputs into the test plan have been that initial draft and your exploratory testing and ideas. You also have to hear from the developers to understand their choices, the configuration options they added, and the areas they are worried about. From the product owner, you need clarification on any unspecified user-facing questions. The specification review meeting is the place to gather that information.

This chapter will show you how to run a successful review meeting. As with the functional specification, this may be carried out by someone else, but if it isn’t, it’s up to you, as a...