diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 13ccb71fc..f2621cf4d 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ include(ExternalProject)
 ##	CMake options of StoRM
 ##
 #############################################################
-option(STORM_DEBUG "Sets whether the DEBUG mode is used" ON)
+option(STORM_DEVELOPER "Sets whether the development mode is used" OFF)
 option(STORM_USE_POPCNT "Sets whether the popcnt instruction is going to be used." ON)
 option(USE_BOOST_STATIC_LIBRARIES "Sets whether the Boost libraries should be linked statically." ON)
 option(STORM_USE_INTELTBB "Sets whether the Intel TBB libraries should be used." OFF)
@@ -40,11 +40,11 @@ set(MSAT_ROOT "" CACHE STRING "The hint to the root directory of MathSAT (option
 set(ADDITIONAL_INCLUDE_DIRS "" CACHE STRING "Additional directories added to the include directories.")
 set(ADDITIONAL_LINK_DIRS "" CACHE STRING "Additional directories added to the link directories.")
 
-# If the DEBUG option was turned on, we will target a debug version and a release version otherwise.
-if (STORM_DEBUG)
-    set (CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE "DEBUG")
-else()
-    set (CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE "RELEASE")
+# If the STORM_DEVELOPER option was turned on, we will target a debug version.
+if (STORM_DEVELOPER)
+    message(STATUS "StoRM - Using development mode")
+    set(CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE "DEBUG" CACHE STRING "Set the build type" FORCE)
+    set(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS "${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS} -DSTORM_DEV")
 endif()
 message(STATUS "StoRM - Building ${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE} version.")
 
diff --git a/src/modelchecker/reachability/SparseDtmcEliminationModelChecker.cpp b/src/modelchecker/reachability/SparseDtmcEliminationModelChecker.cpp
index 0f67cca4a..5a6045f66 100644
--- a/src/modelchecker/reachability/SparseDtmcEliminationModelChecker.cpp
+++ b/src/modelchecker/reachability/SparseDtmcEliminationModelChecker.cpp
@@ -271,7 +271,9 @@ namespace storm {
             while (priorityQueue->hasNextState()) {
                 storm::storage::sparse::state_type state = priorityQueue->popNextState();
                 stateEliminator.eliminateState(state, true);
+#ifdef STORM_DEV
                 STORM_LOG_ASSERT(checkConsistent(flexibleMatrix, flexibleBackwardTransitions), "The forward and backward transition matrices became inconsistent.");
+#endif
             }
             
             // Now, we set the values of all states in BSCCs to that of the representative value (and clear the
@@ -903,7 +905,9 @@ namespace storm {
                 if (removeForwardTransitions) {
                     values[state] = storm::utility::zero<ValueType>();
                 }
+#ifdef STORM_DEV
                 STORM_LOG_ASSERT(checkConsistent(transitionMatrix, backwardTransitions), "The forward and backward transition matrices became inconsistent.");
+#endif
             }
         }
         
diff --git a/src/storage/BitVector.cpp b/src/storage/BitVector.cpp
index fcbceca7b..a60b8c10c 100644
--- a/src/storage/BitVector.cpp
+++ b/src/storage/BitVector.cpp
@@ -12,8 +12,8 @@
 
 #include <bitset>
 
-#ifndef NDEBUG
-//#define ASSERT_BITVECTOR
+#ifdef STORM_DEV
+#define ASSERT_BITVECTOR
 #endif
 
 namespace storm {
@@ -725,11 +725,11 @@ namespace storm {
                 if (result.get(i) != get(start + i)) {
                     STORM_LOG_ERROR("Getting of bits not correct for index " << i);
                     STORM_LOG_ERROR("Getting from " << start << " with length " << length);
-                    stringstream stream;
+                    std::stringstream stream;
                     printBits(stream);
                     stream << std::endl;
                     result.printBits(stream);
-                    STORM_LOG_ERROR(stream);
+                    STORM_LOG_ERROR(stream.str());
                     STORM_LOG_ASSERT(false, "Getting of bits not correct.");
                 }
             }
@@ -738,11 +738,11 @@ namespace storm {
                     if (original.get(i) != get(i)) {
                         STORM_LOG_ERROR("Getting did change bitvector at index " << i);
                         STORM_LOG_ERROR("Getting from " << start << " with length " << length);
-                        stringstream stream;
+                        std::stringstream stream;
                         printBits(stream);
                         stream << std::endl;
                         original.printBits(stream);
-                        STORM_LOG_ERROR(stream);
+                        STORM_LOG_ERROR(stream.str());
                         STORM_LOG_ASSERT(false, "Getting of bits not correct.");
                     }
                 }
@@ -818,11 +818,11 @@ namespace storm {
                 if (other.get(i) != get(start + i)) {
                     STORM_LOG_ERROR("Setting of bits not correct for index " << i);
                     STORM_LOG_ERROR("Setting from " << start << " with length " << other.bitCount);
-                    stringstream stream;
+                    std::stringstream stream;
                     printBits(stream);
                     stream << std::endl;
                     other.printBits(stream);
-                    STORM_LOG_ERROR(stream);
+                    STORM_LOG_ERROR(stream.str());
                     STORM_LOG_ASSERT(false, "Setting of bits not correct.");
                 }
             }
@@ -831,11 +831,11 @@ namespace storm {
                     if (original.get(i) != get(i)) {
                         STORM_LOG_ERROR("Setting did change bitvector at index " << i);
                         STORM_LOG_ERROR("Setting from " << start << " with length " << other.bitCount);
-                        stringstream stream;
+                        std::stringstream stream;
                         printBits(stream);
                         stream << std::endl;
                         original.printBits(stream);
-                        STORM_LOG_ERROR(stream);
+                        STORM_LOG_ERROR(stream.str());
                         STORM_LOG_ASSERT(false, "Setting of bits not correct.");
                     }
                 }