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How to Do Code Reviews Like a Human (Part Two) · mtlynch.io

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This is the second half of my article about how to communicate well and avoid pitfalls in code reviews. Here, I focus on techniques to bring your code review to a successful close while avoiding ugly conflict. I laid the groundwork in Part One, so I recommend starting there. If you’re impatient, here’s the short version: a good code reviewer not only finds bugs but provides conscientious feedback to help their teammates improve. The worst code review of my life was for a former teammate I’ll call Mallory. She started at the company several years before I joined but had only recently transferred to my team. When Mallory sent me her first changelist for review, the code was a bit rough. She had never written Python before, and she was building on top of a clunky, legacy system that I maintained. I dutifully recorded all of the issues I spotted, 59 in total. According to the review literature I’d read, I had done a great job. I found SO many mistakes. Therefore, I must be a good reviewer.

This is the second half of my article about how to communicate well and avoid pitfalls in code reviews. Here, I focus on techniques to bring your code review to a successful close while avoiding ugly conflict. I laid the groundwork in Part One , so I recommend starting there. If you're impatient, here's the short version: a good code reviewer not only finds bugs but provides conscientious feedback to help their teammates improve. My worst code review 🔗︎ The worst code review of my life was for a former teammate I'll call Mallory. She started at the company several years before I joined

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