Have you ever wondered how you, as a developer, can contribute to the code review process?
In my last post, I gave you some insight into the things you need to do to be a good code reviewer. But the code review process does not only rely on reviewers, developers should also facilitate code reviews. So here are some steps you can take.
Before submitting code for review, you should:
👉 Write clean and well-documented code to make it easier to understand.
👉 Demonstrate that your code works as intended by writing unit tests.
👉 Break your changes into smaller, focused commits to make the scope of the changes clear.
👉 Include a clear and concise change message to provide context for reviewers.
👉 Run your code through a linter or static analysis tool to identify potential bugs and style issues.
Similarly, after submitting your code and during the code review process, it is important that you:
👉 Respond promptly to reviewer comments and provide explanations when necessary.
👉 Ask for clarification rather than assuming you know what the reviewer's comments mean.
👉 Be open to suggestions and willing to discuss alternative solutions.
👉 Keep the overall goals of the project in mind when responding to feedback.
By following these steps, you can contribute to a more efficient and productive code review process for yourself, your team, and the development project as a whole.
In addition, I encourage you to incorporate pair programming into your work dynamics. Working with another developer on a task can help catch bugs early and improve code quality, potentially reducing the need for extensive code reviews later on. But that is a whole other topic for us to explore in the future.
What are your biggest challenges with code reviews? How do you stay open to feedback while addressing reviewers' comments? In your experience, has pair programming helped reduce the need for extensive code reviews? Join the conversation and share your thoughts in the comments below!
Cover image by Juanjo Jaramillo
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