How to do Design Reviews

Owned by Farris Matar
Last updated: Jul 07, 2022
3 min read

Schematic Review (Designers)

Copy the into a subpage under your project on Confluence, then do the following:

  • Set up your Part Reviews table. Fill out the table for all the new parts you added to the UWRT libraries and assign someone to go through the Part Review Checklist ( ) for those parts. Specify if you need the schematic symbol reviewed, the PCB footprint reviewed, or both reviewed

  • Create a section for each sheet in your schematic and assign someone to review that sheet. Be sure to create a checklist stating what exactly you want the reviewer to look for when reviewing that sheet (i.e. for a buck converter, you might want the reviewer to double check your calculations and component values match the datasheet)

  • Assign people to review the generic review sections. You don't need to change anything in these checklists

The number of people you assign to your schematic review will depend on how big and complicated your schematic is. Typically for smaller projects (1-3 sheets), 2-3 reviewers will be enough. For larger projects, you may need 4 or more reviewers. Once you've set up the page for your schematic review, paste the link here and ping the people you assigned to review your schematic. Provide a date for when you need the schematic reviewed by (typically 1 week, can make this longer or shorter depending on the urgency of the project).

After all the reviewers are done reviewing your schematic, go through the comments and fix any issues that were found. If you disagree with a comment or want to discuss it more, talk to the reviewer that left the comment 1-on-1.

Schematic Review (Reviewers)

If you’ve been pinged to do a schematic review, you’ll be responsible for completing your sections by the due date set by the designer. If you don’t think you’ll be able to complete the review in time, let the designer know ASAP so they can make an exception or reassign sections in time.

  • Before starting on any review, be sure to do a Git pull to get the latest library and project files

  • For part reviews, go through the . If you notice anything missing or incorrect in the symbol or footprint, write your comments in the Comments column

  • If you are assigned to review a schematic sheet, review the things specified by the designer in their checklists. This will likely involve checking datasheets and calculations to ensure circuits are designed correctly. If no issues are found, fill the checkbox. Otherwise, write out your comments below the checklist

  • If you are assigned a generic review section, go through the checklist and verify that ALL schematic sheets adhere to the checklist. If you notice any issues, leave a comment specifying what needs to be fixed and where

PCB Layout Review (Designers)

Copy the into a subpage under your project on Confluence, then do the following:

  • Assign people to review the generic layout review sections.

  • Specify any specific parts of your board where there is a significant and specialized portion of layout that needs to be reviewed. This will section is typically for the layout of any ICs and large/complex circuits. Highlight specific things that you’d like the reviewer to look for

Similar to the schematic review, the number of people you assign will depend on how big and complicated your board is. Smaller boards may only need 2-3 reviewers, while larger boards may need 4 or more. Once you’ve set up the page, ping the people you assigned to review your layout and provide a due date (typically 1 week, can be adjusted as mentioned in the schematic review).

After all the reviewers are done reviewing your schematic, go through the comments and fix any issues that were found. If you disagree with a comment or want to discuss it more, talk to the reviewer that left the comment 1-on-1.

PCB Layout Review (Reviewers)

Same idea as the schematic review. Again, if you don’t think you’ll be able to complete the review in time, let the designer know ASAP.

  • Before starting on any review, be sure to do a Git pull to get the latest library and project files

  • For generic layout review sections, go through the checklist and verify the ENTIRE layout adheres to the checklist. If you notice any issues, leave a comment specifying what needs to be fixed and where

  • For specific layout review sections, verify the layout is OK according to the checklist made by the designer. If there is an IC or multiple ICs in the section, be sure the layout for all the ICs matches the layout recommendations in the datasheets for the ICs