Code Reviews User Journey - How to level-up your Code Reviews

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When developers in the software industry discuss "code reviews," they refer to a crucial process that enhances the quality and integrity of a codebase. Code reviews play a pivotal role in the long-term success of a software system. A well-executed code review process ensures that the code remains maintainable, robust, and adaptable, making it easier and more cost-effective to add new features in the future.

We firmly believe that effective code reviews are deeply intertwined with programming and should be regarded as an integral part of the development process.

We’ve delved into the questions of what constitutes a good code review process, how teams can establish it, and the best ways to cultivate a culture of thorough code evaluation within development organizations. In this article, we aim to provide insights into the journey of code reviews, highlighting the importance of various strategies and techniques to level up your code review practices.

What makes a code review process effective?

1. Code Owners

Defining clear responsibilities upfront is a crucial step in ensuring a successful code review process. By introducing the concept of Code Owners, you can assign reviewers automatically, establishing a sense of ownership and accountability for maintaining high-quality code. Each Code Owner takes responsibility for specific sections.



1.1 Code Owners for Bitbucket - Adds relevant reviewers automatically

2. Checklists

To maintain consistency and rigor in your code reviews, it's beneficial to generate Code Review Checklists  for your reviewers. These checklists serve as guides, outlining best practices, coding standards, and you can use checklists to implement regulatory requirements in terms of compliance. They empower reviewers to conduct thorough and systematic assessments, resulting in more comprehensive feedback and improvements to the code.




2.1.Pull Request Checklist Buddy for Bitbucket - Checklists for manual work: release notes preparation, testing, and updating public documents.

3. Auto-merging Pull Requests

To optimize your code review process and improve team productivity, it's beneficial to apply specific principles when deciding which changes require a classic, stop-the-line code review. While critical changes warrant a comprehensive review, you can streamline the process for less impactful changes by enabling auto-merging. This approach allows your team to increase velocity while still maintaining code quality.

In the fast-paced world of software development, waiting for Pull Requests (PRs) to receive reviews can often lead to long-living branches, merge conflicts, and context switches that hinder progress. To overcome this challenge and optimize your development process, consider embracing the Ship/Show/Ask principle—a modern branching strategy that combines the advantages of Pull Requests with the ability to ship changes swiftly.

By integrating the Ship/Show/Ask principle into your workflow, you can expedite the PR lifecycle without sacrificing code quality.

3.1 DevSensei Auto Merge for Bitbucket - Add "[SHOW]" to the PR title. DevSensei will automatically merge it after successful builds, no reviewer requested changes, and no open tasks.

4. Integrated Security checks

Security is a paramount concern in software development. To address potential vulnerabilities early in the development process, consider integrating security scans into your code review workflow. By incorporating a vulnerability scanner like OWASP , you can identify and rectify security issues during the review stage, mitigating risks and safeguarding your software.

Enforcing quality standards is essential to maintain a healthy codebase. Merge checks are an effective means to prevent the merging of code that violates your defined quality criteria. By running automated checks before merging, you can catch quality issues early on, avoiding costly and time-consuming fixes in later stages of development.

4.1 Include Dependency Check for Bamboo - SCA reports from Dependency Check in build results

In conclusion, code reviews form an integral part of the software development process. By implementing strategies such as assigning reviewers automatically, generating checklists, sending reminders, focusing reviewer efforts, adding security scans, and enforcing quality standards, you can elevate your code review practices to new heights. A rigorous code review process ensures a high-quality codebase that is adaptable, maintainable, and primed for continued success.