Peer Code Reviews

Nearly all open source projects have some form of peer review system. In this session you will learn the pros (and cons) of adopting a peer review system in-house. To illustrate how this unfolded in the real world, a case study will be used. We'll talk about the overall setup, the impact on the team, and give you tips on how to conduct a good peer review.

Transcript

1. Peer Code Reviews Emma Jane Hogbin Westby - Trillium Consultancy Ltd. www.gitforteams.com @emmajanehw
2. “in a culture of optimism good honest criticism seems to be dying out” Tim Brown Tim Brown

4. Overview • Storytime! • Types of reviewers and types of reviews • Structuring the review process • Providing excellent feedback
5. Storytime!
6. Be intentional about your reviews.
7. Not all reviews are the same. • Design crit • Technical architecture review • Automated self-check
 (coding standards; test suites) • Ticket-based peer code review • Quality Assurance / User Acceptance Testing
8. Not all reviewers are the same. • Disinterested Reviewer • Peer Reviewer • Automated Gatekeeper • Consensus Shepherd • Benevolent Dictator
9. Peer reviews are for everyone. Junior Coder Senior Coder Junior Reviewer • find bugs • compliance with coding standards • learn to read good code • suggest simplifications • exposure Senior Reviewer • suggest new techniques • improve architecture • improve architecture • cross-functional team (exposure)
10. Use templates 
 and checklists.
11. Use templates to structure the process. LaunchPad - http://lb.cm/tmplt-launchpad Drupal - http://lb.cm/tmplt-drupal Symfony - http://lb.cm/tmplt-symfony
12. Use Checklists to Ensure You’re Meeting Standards http://drupal.org/core-gates
13. Internal Checklists http://gitforteams.com/resources/review-process.html
14. Provide excellent feedback.
15. Good Feedback is Usable • Limit it to the scope of the work. • Make it actionable. • Make it specific. • Do it as soon as possible. • Acknowledge effort and give thanks.
16. Bad Feedback
 is Destructive
17. Summary • Implementing code reviews at work can initially cause more tension. • Code reviews will improve the skills of everyone on the team — communication and coding. • Consider the types of review, and work towards implementing the right feedback at the right time. • Co-create checklists for the review process. • Provide excellent, actionable feedback.
18. Peer Code Review Resources http://lb.cm/ala-code-reviews http://lb.cm/review-process www.gitforteams.com @emmajanehw