Software Quality Critical Design Review (CDR) Checklist

Date(s) of Assessment: ____________ Project: ____________________________________

Assessor(s): _____________________ Review Examined: ___________________________
_______________________________ ___________________________________________

Y, N, F, O Comments
NA
REVIEW PREPARATION
1 Have standards been identified to
clearly define the review process?
2 Were guidelines used to prepare for
the review?
3 Has the project submitted any request
for deviations or waivers to the
defined process?
4 Have entrance and exit criteria been
established for the review?
5 Was an agenda prepared and
distributed in advance of the review?
6 Was the review package provided
with ample time to review?
7 Were the appropriate stakeholders in
attendance?
REVIEW CONTENT
8 Were the goals of the review and any
review prerequisites provided?
9 Was the review process addressed,
including the method for capturing
Requests for Action (RFAs), risks, or
issues?
10 Was an overview of the software
project/system provided (e.g.,
mission goals, key functionality,
operational characteristics)?
11 Is the Organization/Work Breakdown
Structure (WBS)/Project relationship
presented?
12 Is status included on action items
from the Preliminary Design Review
(PDR)?
13 Is IV & V status provided?
14 Are milestones, software builds, and
schedules presented?

Revision: 2.0 Page 1 of 6

Y=Yes, N=No, NA=Not Applicable, F=Finding, O=Observation

 Software Quality Critical Design Review (CDR) Checklist
Y, N, F, O Comments
NA
15 Have budget and schedule impacts
been presented?
CDR OBJECTIVES
16 Does the CDR reflect that all
elements of the design are compliant
with functional and performance
requirements?
17 Does the CDR reflect that the
verification approach is viable and
will confirm compliance with all
requirements?
18 Does the CDR reflect that risks have
been appropriately identified and
mitigated or are on track for timely
mitigation?
19 Does the CDR reflect that the design
is sufficiently mature to proceed with
full-scale development?
20 Does the CDR reflect that the
management processes used by the
project team are sufficient to develop
and operate the mission?
21 Does the CDR reflect that the
schedule and cost estimates indicate
that the mission will be ready to
launch and operate on time and
within budget and that the control
processes are adequate to ensure
remaining within allocated
resources?
REQUIREMENTS
22 Do the requirements flow down and
are they traceable?
23 Have remaining “To Be Determined”
(TBD) requirements been resolved?
24 Did the review package include an
overview of changes, additions,
and/or deletions to the requirements
since PDR?
25 Are updates to the interface
descriptions presented (both internal
and external)?

Revision: 2.0 Page 2 of 6

Y=Yes, N=No, NA=Not Applicable, F=Finding, O=Observation

 Software Quality Critical Design Review (CDR) Checklist
Y, N, F, O Comments
NA
26 Has the Verification Matrix been
updated to reflect all requirement
changes since PDR?
DETAILED DESIGN
27 Does a complete definition of the
entire design exist?
28 Has the design been elaborated in
baseline diagrams to a sufficient level
of detail?
29 Are detailed logic flow diagrams
presented?
30 Are detailed data flow diagrams
presented?
31 Has code reuse or heritage software
been addressed, if necessary?
32 Does the design meet all the
applicable software safety
requirements?
33 Are updates to the estimates of flight
resource usage: Central Processing
Unit (CPU), memory, databases, and
data storage presented?
34 Are updates to the operations
scenarios presented?
35 Have any IT Security features or
issues been addressed?
36 Is the detailed design under formal
CM control?
SOFTWARE TESTING
37 Have the roles of the test team
members been addressed?
38 Has the test documentation been
addressed – titles and status of test
plan, procedures, and traceability
matrices?
39 Are Software Test Scenarios
consistent with the Software Test
Plan?
40 Have the various test levels (unit
testing, integration testing, system
testing) been addressed?
41 Have the various builds/releases and
test timelines been addressed?

Revision: 2.0 Page 3 of 6

Y=Yes, N=No, NA=Not Applicable, F=Finding, O=Observation

 Software Quality Critical Design Review (CDR) Checklist
Y, N, F, O Comments
NA
42 Has the test environment been
addressed?
43 Has the acceptance process been
addressed?
44 Are drivers/simulators to be used for
testing presented?
45 Are there adequate resources such as
hardware and personnel for testing?
46 Is there evidence that peer reviews
have been conducted for each
software unit and test scenarios?
47 Is a summary status of peer review
activities and action items presented?
DELIVERY, INSTALLATION, and MAINTENANCE
48 Has the delivery process been
addressed – source code, tools,
version identification,
documentation, databases?
SOFTWARE STATUS
49 Has the current software size
estimate been addressed?
50 Has the current schedule been
addressed including milestones?
51 Has staffing and the current
cost/effort status been addressed?
RISKS
52 Are technical risks, mitigation plans,
and issues documented with plans for
tracking and closure?
SOFTWARE DOCUMENTATION STATUS
53 Does the review package include the
following approved documents:
53a Software Requirements Document
(updated)
53b Software Interface Requirements
Document (updated)
53c Software Test Plan (updated)
53d Software Design Document
(updated)
53e Software Test Procedures (draft)
53f Software Users Manual (draft)
POST REVIEW ACTIVITIES
Revision: 2.0 Page 4 of 6

Y=Yes, N=No, NA=Not Applicable, F=Finding, O=Observation

 Software Quality Critical Design Review (CDR) Checklist
Y, N, F, O Comments
NA
54 At the conclusion of the review is a
technical understanding reached on
the validity and degree of
completeness of:
55 System/subsystem specification?

56 The engineering design/cost of the

system?
57 Did all designated parties concur in
the acceptability of the CDR?
58 Are there any risks, issues, or request
for actions (RFAs) that require
follow-up?
59 Is there a process in place for
reviewing and tracking the closure of
risks, issues, or RFAs?
60 Have all artifacts been placed under
formal configuration control (e.g.,
review packages)?
61 Were Lessons Learned addressed and
captured?
REFERENCE ITEMS/DOCUMENTS
Information Systems Division (ISD) Checklist 580-CK-009-01, Software Contents of the
Mission-Level Critical Design Review (CDR)
Information Systems Division (ISD) Checklist 580-CK-008-01, Contents of the Software Critical
Design Review (CDR)
BK Draft CDR Guidelines, GSFC System Management Office, Design Review Guidelines-CDR

NASA Software Safety Guidebook NASA-GB-8719.13, Section 7.5.2.1

IEEE Standard for Software Reviews, IEEE Std 1028-1997

Revision: 2.0 Page 5 of 6

Y=Yes, N=No, NA=Not Applicable, F=Finding, O=Observation

 Software Quality Critical Design Review (CDR) Checklist

Date(s) of Assessment: ________________ Project: ________________________________

Assessor(s): ______________________ Review Examined: __________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________

COMMENTS PAGE _____ of _____

# Comments from assessment

Revision: 2.0 Page 6 of 6

Y=Yes, N=No, NA=Not Applicable, F=Finding, O=Observation