![Cover image for [On-Demand Talk] Teaching through Code Review](https://community.codenewbie.org/images/RR1BdkY-OruOx7LEOKQAqAv04cOK3MWvf0ANsjaOMfI/rs:fill:1000:420/g:sm/mb:500000/ar:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9jb21t/dW5pdHkuY29kZW5l/d2JpZS5vcmcvcmVt/b3RlaW1hZ2VzL3Vw/bG9hZHMvYXJ0aWNs/ZXMvbnY4dWY4a2Fh/amU5MHI5NHhkaXou/cG5n)
About this talk
Code reviews are often focused solely on quality control. The reviewer protecting their main git branch from badly formatted, not properly tested code that can introduce bugs. Code reviews become adversarial processes where the requester must meet all the demands of the reviewer. This type of process does not promote teamwork nor does it allow less experienced engineers the opportunity to truly learn.
In this talk we will learn a new approach to code review. We will learn how to make code review a learning experience by transforming the role of reviewer into a teacher. This approach can lead to high quality code, developer satisfaction and team building. We will also explore ways that junior developers can make changes in the process and encourage adoption of better review practiced by senior and lead developers. By the end of this talk you will learn how to make code review a great learning experience for all those involved.
Talk Recording
Slides
Resources
- How to Review Someone Else's Code
- Code Review Best Practice
- What to Look For in a Code Review
- BlackIllustrations.com
- twitter.com/curtiseinsmann
- dev.to/camilaleniss/the-code-review-guide-4gfo
- hbr.org/2018/01/negative-feedback-rarely-leads-to-improvement
🌈 Comment below and ask me questions — I might just answer them during my live speaker discussion!
About me
Hi! I'm Derek Binkley — a Full Stack Engineer with Localize. While getting my start fixing the Y2K date problem in Cobol, I quickly moved on to spend over twenty years using JavaScript, PHP, JVM Languages, and SQL and NoSQL databases. I enjoy teaching others through speaking, mentoring, and writing articles. I also like to encourage developers to write clean, testable code. When not in front of a computer, I spend time hanging with family, traveling, and making sourdough pizza.
This on-demand talk is part of CodeLand 2022 — a virtual conference brought to you by CodeNewbie & DEV on June 16 & 17, 2022.
Latest comments (17)
Thanks for the great talk Derek! I haven't really experienced code reviews yet. Do you have any advice for that first code review at a new role?
Thanks for your presentation.
My question is how to aplogize when you lost the focus or target of code review?. We are human, and we made some mistakes in the relationship
What would you suggest to a junior software engineer trying to participate in PRs made by senior engineers? Do you have some tips & tricks on how to break the ice? Thank you!
Thank you Derek! I look forward to reviewing your resources. This is such a great topic. The point about reviews being fraught with landmines of gate keeping is well taken. I haven't been in as many formal code reviews. Most were just informal and found I learned new ways of doing things and a flexibility of how to see logic laid out when going the informal route. It does allow for breaking any company set style standards and is best for very small teams. I guess the best way to define an informal review is to look at the work with the developer afterwards, but not during like pair programming. What's your thoughts or experience with this idea of informal reviews? Thank you for your valuable insights!
I could have really used this talk a month ago :D
I've had to start doing code review on a big project I just joined and it's been intimidating. Luckily there's a lot of new people on the project and those who've been on it for a while suggested we do a quick call with whoever opened the pull request. That way there's not a lot of back and forth in the comments trying to ask for clarification and explain.
I'm wondering how would you approach a code review on parts of the codebase you're not familiar with yet? Or how would you suggest a junior dev approaches this?
Teaching through review and sharing of knowledge is the interesting part of this one
Thank you for your talk Derek. My question is, what resources can we use for shared code reviewing when we don't yet have a job where we can ask people to be involved in our review?
Thank you Derek! you gave many great tips!
This was great - I'm starting as a junior developer next week, so I never thought about giving code reviews, and I have some anxiety over the code review process. This talk was great for giving advice and an interesting perspective about code reviews in general.
Thanks Derek, that was very helpful! Until now I didn't have to deal with code review in a professional way but some day I'll need it and it's great to know how you handle it. Hopefully I find an environment where helping and learning from each other are appreciated. :)