Help reading schematics for design reviews

[dmitko97]

I'm reaching out to those with more experience in reading electronic schematics. As the Compliance engineer on the team, I primarily handle testing, pre-testing, and certifications. Recently, I've been included in design reviews, which is new territory for me. The schematics are quite extensive (40-50 pages), and I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed.

While my input isn't crucial at this stage, I anticipate a greater role in the future and want to be well-prepared. Any advice on how to approach these documents would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

[Konkedout]

I think that your question is too broad.  I do not know how to answer it as it is.  Why not post a partial schematic and ask specific questions about it?

[Slh]

I guess you're caring mostly about is it legal to sell and is it robust rather than does it work?

I guess you just want to start by concentrating on the pages with external connectors to see if they have suitable filtering for emc/ESD etc. 

Bring a list of previous failures and ask what mitigations have been put in place for them.

[selcuk]

-Expect the simplest mistakes.
-Don't review a schematic if it doesn't have full part numbers. You don't need to have them on the drawing. Spreadsheet is easier.
-Check symbol pin names and orders with the datasheets then work on that part on the schematic.
-You may need to review the board layout as well to identify footprint mistakes.
-Make note everything you are suspicious about. After finishing the review, some of them will be more clear and then you decide whether they are errors or not.
-Categorize your findings. Error, warning, recommendation etc. Hardware designers do not want to update everything you find. You can force them fix errors at least.
-You need to understand the design very well, or you don't see some of the errors.

I've never reviewed a 50-page schematics. I hope you have enough time to do the job.