Explanation: inspections of code and design are a proven software quality technique. An advantage of this approach is that defects are identified before they propagate through the development life cycle. This reduces the cost of correction as less rework is involved. Allowing more time for testing may discover more defects; however, little is revealed as to why the quality problems are occurring and the cost of the extra testing, and the cost of rectifying the defects found will be greater than if they had been discovered earlier in the development process. The ability of the development staff can have a bearing on the quality of what is produced; however, replacing staff can be expensive and disruptive, and the presence of a competent staff cannot guarantee quality in the absence of effective quality management processes. Sign-off of deliverables may help detect defects if signatories are diligent about reviewing deliverable content; however, this is difficult to enforce.
Deliverable reviews normally do not go down to the same level of detail as software inspections.