Bad code review practices. How to make this process better

Bad code review is code that ends up costing more than it should. It may either be too slow or maybe making use of too many resources. The only way to make code review a better process is by focusing on the best code review practices.

For you to make the process better below are some of the things you need to do:

• Perform code reviews

• What, when, and why you need code reviews.'

• Examples of code review

• Code review preparation

Why carry out code review practices?

Code reviews are essential in that they not only improve your code quality; they also make your codebase stable. Moreover, they help programmers work together and have meaningful relationships. There are so many ios app development company, like Redwerk, that follow these practices.

Code review practices

1. Know what you are looking for

It is always advisable to carry out reviews when you know what it is you are looking for. Make sure that you have a look at the fundamental things. Some of the things that you can look at include:

• Test coverage

• Style

• Logic

• Design

• Readability and maintainability

• Functionality

On top of the above, you can also carry out automated checks for things like logic and structure. This is one of the most effective ways of making the whole process better. Review your code with questions in mind so that you can focus

2. Build and then test

Before you go ahead and start doing a manual review, it's advisable that you first start by building and then testing. If you pass these tests, the next thing would be to conduct the code review and then deploy it. Not only does this ensure stability, but the automated checks will also significantly reduce errors and bugs. Doing so will save you a lot of time throughout the entire review process.

3. Do not review code for more than an hour.

If your code review takes more than an hour, you are likely to get distracted. Attention to detail and performance tends to decrease the longer you take reviewing the code. Take breaks in between so that your mind has the chance to rest.

4. Do not go beyond lines at a single instance.

If you decide to go ahead and start reviewing too many lines of code, you are more than likely going to miss a defect. Put a limit for yourself and make sure that you stick to it.

5. Give the right kind of feedback.

For the entire process to be better and smooth, you need to learn how to give constructive feedback. Instead of making statements, you can ask the right questions. Additionally, always remember to combine your feedback with praise. When you give a face to face feedback, this will help your communication skills. Just make sure that you make use of the right tone.

6. Communicate expectations and goals

When doing a review, it is essential to be clear with your expectations and goals. Provide your reviews with a checklist that will ensure there is consistency with the reviews. Include your entire team or parties involved in the review process No matter how senior a particular programmer is, all code needs to be reviewed accordingly. It is also essential to include everyone to enable meaningful discussions.

7. Work towards saving time

Code reviews may need to be done manually at a given point. However, with the right tools, this can be done automatically. Not only are you going to be saving time, but the code review will also take a short period.

Conclusion

Code review is critical in any software dev process. Due to this, the entire development team needs to plan accordingly. The proper dates need to be set, and all parties informed. Even though pull requests may differ, teams or developers should be aware of the potential issues and impacts.

Mistakes are bound to happen whenever reviews are being done. However, since code review is considered to be a kind of risk management, it should be treated that way all through. Good code review practices increase the quality of your code while getting rid of bugs and errors.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes