Abstract—Software Product Line (SPL) is a promising approach for specific domain software artifacts reuse. In order to ensure SPL quality it is essential to perform activities for verification and validation. In this scenario, one applies software revision to the quality control process in order to ensure the quality of a software engineering process in each stage. Amongst software revision techniques, there is the checklist-based reading technique. This technique allows the detection of several defect types, whereas improves the quality of the software products. This paper presents the empirical evaluation of an SPL inspection technique based on checklist, named SMartyCheck. The main objective of SMartyCheck is to inspect Unified Modeling Language (UML) use case and class SPL diagrams based on the Stereotype-based Management of Variability (SMarty) approach. For evaluating SMartyCheck it was adopted the sequential exploratory strategy based on mixed-methods, aiming at analyzing the SMartyCheck feasibility throughout qualitative, then quantitative studies. The results obtained with such empirical studies allowed providing initial evidence improving SMartyCheck corroborating the relevance of the technique quality in the academic environment. Therefore, we provide an initial body of knowledge for planning prospective studies in industrial sets, as well as the automation of SMartyCheck.