VIP’s Quality Review and Audit Process
VIP uses a 3-tier review process and incorporates as needed, best practices embodied in CMMi methodology. This review process verifies that each deliverable passes through three tiers (or levels) of review. These tiers are discussed below. The 3-tier review process includes the principle of phase containment that detects flaws in deliverables in the phase they are introduced. This review process reduces the number of defects in the final product through internal VIP formal and informal reviews and independent audits.

• Internal Reviews. The first stage in the 3-tiered process is the Internal Review. This review is conducted by two senior members of VIP and provides an opportunity to capture any unclear language, misunderstood information, or document errors. During this review, each reviewer completes a quality control checklist to verify that the document adheres to standard format and content guidelines. After completing the review, the document is returned to the author for correction.
  
• Peer Reviews. Following the Internal Review, a Peer Review is performed by VIP-EAGLE personnel not directly involved in the deliverable. By having resources "external" to the deliverable review the documents, we are able to bring a fresh perspective to the review process. Included in this review is the completion of a Peer Review Checklist. This checklist is similar to the one used during the Internal Review process and is divided into two parts. The first part has a set of checkpoints, specific to reviews performed by a peer evaluator rather than a team evaluator. The second part of the checklist allows reviewers to add their own comments.
  
  A document walk-thru is held after the Peer Review with the reviewers and the document author. This walk-thru allows reviewers to identify any errors discovered in the document and noted in the Peer Review Checklist. Corrections are then made by the author, and the document is returned to peer reviewers for final approval. Once peer reviewers validate that all errors are corrected, the Peer Review Checklist is signed by the reviewers, and the document is passed to the next level of review.
  
• Manager Reviews. VIP submits the deliverable to VIP Managers for review only after it has passed the internal and peer reviews. The Manager review confirms that all deliverables submitted by the Team subsystems conform to our quality standards. During this review, the deliverable is checked for completeness and content, and to verify that each piece of system functionality has been described in a satisfactory level of detail. Furthermore, the manager reviews the document to identify cross-subsystem coordination of functionality. Following this review is the completion of a review checklist similar to the ones used in earlier review stages. Modifications to the document are incorporated following completion of a review and the checklist.Once the documents have received manager approval, the draft deliverable will be provided to DHS.

VIP’s Documentation of Review Process
Each quality control review of a deliverable produces four documents. The first document is an internal review checklist and audit. The second is a peer review checklist and audit. The third is a manager review checklist and audit. VIP uses standardized, CMMI compliant templates for these efforts. The final document is the DRAFT deliverable, which is modified to reflect QC findings from the internal, peer, and manager reviews. All four documents are archived and made available thru a web-based information management system for ease of access.