The Benefits of Code Reviews

Code reviews are a vital practice in software development where developers collaboratively examine each other’s code. This essential process not only improves code quality but also promotes knowledge sharing among team members and enhances overall team dynamics. But what does this process actually involve?

The code review process

This review process involves two key roles:

Code Author: The individual responsible for creating the code being reviewed.
Reviewer: The person tasked with examining the code and providing feedback, both positive and constructive.

When a developer completes work on a particular issue, the reviewer(s) will closely inspect the code, asking critical questions, such as:

1. Are there any obvious logical errors in the code?
2. Does ir fully meet the specified requirements?
3. Does it conform to existing style guidelines and coding standards?
4. Could the code introduce performance issues or security vulnerabilities?
5. Are there adequate automated tests for the new code, and do existing tests need updates?

What are the key benefits of code reviews?

While the specific advantages can vary based on the software project, several common benefits typically arise from implementing this practice:

• Higher Code Quality: Prevents poor code and bugs from accumulating, ensuring consistently high-quality software.

• Early Bug Detection: Identifying and fixing issues early minimizes regressions and delays.

• Shared Code Ownership: Encourages the entire team to take responsibility for code quality, not just the author.

• Faster Knowledge Sharing: Facilitates rapid knowledge transfer within development teams, especially benefiting junior developers.

• Improved Codebase Familiarity: Helps developers gain a deeper understanding of the entire project codebase.

• Seamless Integration: Ensures smooth integration of new code from junior developers, thanks to ongoing code review processes.

The graph below confirms and visualizes the mentioned key benefits of code reviews, as reported in the 2018 State of Code Review. It shows that 90% of respondents indicate that these reviews contribute to improved software quality, followed by knowledge sharing within teams (73%) and adherence to coding standards (59%). Additionally, benefits such as mentoring, increased collaboration, and cost savings are highlighted. These statistics emphasize the broad impact of code reviews, both on a technical and organizational level, and reinforce the importance of this practice in software development.

By making code reviews a core part of your development workflow, your team can achieve better collaboration, fewer bugs, and a healthier codebase.

Essential tools for effective code reviews

Collaborative code reviews via pull requests (or similar features) are becoming the standard for integrating changes among both local and geographically distributed development teams. While pull requests are popular, various specialized tools can enhance the code review process:

Pull Request-based tools:

GitLab: Utilizes merge requests for code review.

GitHub: The pioneer of the ‘pull request’ feature.

Bitbucket: Provides a centralized platform for project planning, code collaboration, testing, and deployment.

Specialized tools:

Azure DevOps: Provides comprehensive functionalities, including requirement management, planning, code management via Git, test management, build/release pipelines- and more.

Crucible: An Atlassian on-premise collaborative code review tool.

Collaborator: A peer code review and document review tool by SmartBear.

Upsource: JetBrains’ on-premise tool for reviewing Git, Mercurial, Perforce, and SVN code.

Phabricator: An open-source code review tool for Git, Mercurial, and SVN, originally developed by Facebook.

Why implement code reviews

While automated tools handle many quality checks, such as code style analyzers, test coverage, and metrics for software quality, manual code reviews remain essential. Automation has limitations, which is why code reviews are crucial for agile development teams. They help decentralize knowledge and ensure no single developer holds sole responsibility for specific sections of the codebase.

Optimizing the code review process

Yes, this requires time, but this investment pays off significantly. Here are some tips to streamline the process:

• Use Tools and Timeboxing: Leverage tools like GitHub or Azure DevOps to streamline discussions and implement timeboxing to keep reviews focused.
• Limit Code Chunk Size: Keep reviews to around 400 lines of code (LOC) to maximize defect detection.

• Select the Right Reviewers: Choose reviewers with relevant expertise without overloading them, as too many reviewers can hinder bug detection.
• Provide Clear Comments: Include comments in the code to highlight changes, explain decisions, and direct reviewers to specific areas.
• Automate Where Possible: Use linters and quality checkers to handle straightforward tasks, allowing reviewers to focus on complex analyses.

Humanizing the code review process

When conducting these reviews, it’s essential to understand the rationale behind changes. Here are some best practices for maintaining a constructive atmosphere:

• Communicate Ideas Clearly: Share which concepts you feel strongly about and those you don’t.
• Ask Thoughtful Questions: Frame inquiries in a collaborative manner (e.g., “What do you think about naming this user_id?”).
• Simplify Where Possible: Identify ways to streamline code while addressing the problem.
• Seek Clarification: If something is unclear, ask for more information.
• Keep Discussions Productive: Move philosophical discussions offline to maintain focus on the task at hand.
• Offer Alternatives Respectfully: Provide alternative implementations while assuming the author has already considered them.
• Seek to Understand: Try to appreciate the author’s perspective without hyperbole.
• Conclude Positively: End the review with an encouraging sign-off, such as a thumbs-up or “Ready to merge” comment.

Key takeways on the benefits of code reviews

Everyone makes mistakes – it’s part of being human. Early detection through code reviews is crucial for preventing costly fixes later on, making a code review program essential for high-quality software development. Code reviews are crucial for high-quality software development, ensuring early detection of issues and fostering collaboration among developers.

NetRom Software’s key focus is delivering high quality software solutions, build longterm relationships with our clients while doing so and continuously contribute to innovation goals. Code review plays a large role in this from a technical perspective. Interested in learning more about this? We are happy to discuss this in more detail at any time.

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