If the programmers like each other, they play a game called “pair programming”. And if not, then the game is called “peer review”.
“Bruta

The gentle art of code review — Bitfield Consulting

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2023-01-24 11:30:05

If the programmers like each other, they play a game called “pair programming”. And if not, then the game is called “peer review”.

“Brutal”. “Minefield”. “Frustrating”. All these words polled higher with people asked to describe their experiences of code review than the one I’ve used in the title of this piece. Why is that, though? Why does code review suck so badly, and what can we do about it?

Code review is a necessary part of software development, but it’s one that can cause a great deal of friction, anxiety, conflict, and wasted time and effort, when it’s done poorly—and it mostly is.

How can we get better at it? Could we give and receive code reviews with kindness, gentleness, humility, and compassion? What kinds of comments add value to code, and build trust and safety with our co-workers? How do we accentuate the positive, cope with wounded vanity, and make a point without making an enemy?

Let’s start by talking about what code review is and when it happens. We’ll use three friends of mine, Aisha, Bryan, and Chiku, as our example.