The review planning phase is the first stage of a formal review process. Its purpose is to establish the foundation for a successful review. Key activities include defining the scope, objectives, and entry/exit criteria. A critical part of this phase is resource planning, which involves selecting the appropriate participants and formally allocating their individual roles, such as moderator, author, and reviewer. This ensures that all responsibilities are clearly defined before the review commences.

A. Log defects: This activity occurs during the individual review and subsequent review meeting (issue communication and analysis phase), not during planning.

B. Explain the documents to the participants: This is a primary activity of the 'initiate review' or 'kick-off' phase, which follows the planning phase.

C. Gather metrics: Metrics are defined during planning, but the actual gathering of data (e.g., number of defects, effort spent) happens during and after the review execution.

1. ISTQB® Certified Tester Foundation Level Syllabus (CTFL) 2018 V3.1, Section 3.2.2, "Activities of a Formal Review". The syllabus explicitly lists "Selecting the people to participate in the review and allocating roles" as a key activity within the Planning phase (p. 29).

2. Black, R. (2019). ISTQB Certified Tester Foundation Level Exam Certification Guide. Rocky Nook. Chapter 3, "Static Testing," details the review process. The section on "Planning the Review" confirms that defining roles and responsibilities is a fundamental planning task.

3. van Veenendaal, E. (Ed.). (2012). Foundations of Software Testing: ISTQB Certification. Cengage Learning. Chapter 3, "Static Techniques," describes the phases of a formal review. The "Planning" phase is detailed as including the allocation of roles to the review team (p. 85).