Just a few years ago, code review was perceived more as some kind of curiosity or idealistic programming practice than an element contributing an added value to the commercial projects. Although the term has been clear for both developers and managers, and most of them praises the idea of mutual code analysis by programmers, this job is still being treated as a waste of time, which could be spent on delivering another requirements.

 

The increase of the number of businesses in IT has created another challenges that projects have to face. How to improve product quality, reduce projects’ risk and costs, or how to build experience in teams effectively. Obviously, there is no one answer to the raised questions, but one of the elements which can help is building code review culture.

What is code review culture?

Code analysis brings rational effects only when a team understands its assumptions and uses developed rules. Its misuse can lead to results opposite to those expected. Let’s try then to determine do’s and don’t’s, to benefit from the process.

 

One of common mistakes is delegating a code analysis to the most experienced programmer or an architect only. IT technologies are developing incredibly fast, and it’s not possible to know all the mechanisms, libraries and novelties. Theoretically, we can assume that even a less experienced team member who is up to date with the newest trends in the field, can offer a solution which even an expert would not be ashamed of. Another thing is gaining experience. If you want to do something well, you need practice. The faster all the team members will start participating in the code review, the sooner they will achieve a high level and will be able to perform a thorough analysis of code errors.

 

Another significant element is easiness of a code analysis. Every corporation is aiming at simplification of all processes. A similar method should be applied in this case. The excess of formalities can not only discourage, but also expand the time of a project’s implementation. Depending on used technologies, there are numerous possibilities of code review process implementation. The most common method are using ”pull/merge request”, making use of built’in mechanisms of developers environments, or dedicated tools such as Crucible.

 

One of the hardest elements is developing and maintaining the quality of teams’ comments. Each developer has their favorite mechanisms, ways of solving problems, and even sizes of space in code’s indentation. Giving constructive remarks involved using some coding style rules which are shared by many providers from programmers’ environments, e.g. Microsoft. A team can also develop such rules themselves. It will help to limit suggestions connected with individual preferences and focus on improvement of readability, quality and efficiency of the solution.

 

The above-mentioned rules will help you implement code review or improve its quality.

 

Code review

 

What benefits can it all bring?

This basically simple activity can have more importance that it seems at first glance. One of significant elements is early error detection. Static code analysis can show possible problems both purely technical ones as well as those in business logic. The cost of fixing an error at this stage is the least invasive for the process of software delivering. Everything happens before building packages, delivering them to testers, users and production. It will not only save time, but also build confidence of a team. Errors are fixed at the software development level and do not go beyond the team.

 

Another important element is transfer between team members. Code review allows to find mistakes and ways of fixing them without going often through a really long process of implementation. It also shortens the time of introducing new team members, because it shows the way of solving problems, implementation of features or the team’s coding style.

 
Code review advantages

 

The last element worth mentioning is code’s purity and easiness of its maintenance. Programmers often specialize in a certain application domain and focus on given project’s elements. Code review helps to see the whole of it and to be up-to-date with all its modules and nuances. This way, in case of any changes in a team or any unexpected shortages in management staff, the whole team knows how the product works. Because of that, tasks can be easily taken over by another developer and requirements would be delivered on time and with high quality.

 

With all the benefits coming from code review, you need to remember that it’s not a panacea for all the problems connected with code’s and product’s quality. To maximize the chances of success, reduce the risk, one needs to combine code analysis with another development and business processes. Before it starts, you need to make sure that there are no simple mistakes such as a problem with project’s compilation or unit tests’ performance. After it’s finished, there’s still the need to perform a set of manual or automatic tests in order to detect any malfunction concerning the requirements. Applying those rules, code review will be not only simple to implement, but it will also help to build experienced project teams and improve the product’s quality at a low cost.

How useful was this post?

Click on a star to rate it!

Average rating 5 / 5. Vote count: 2

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.

If you violate the Regulations , your post will be deleted.

    _All posts in this category

    Third Party QA Testing with Xray

    Hiring Third Party QA teams to verify a product has become a common practice - find out what Third Party QA Testing is…
    Read more

    From Java to Go - scaling competences in the Software Development Centre team

    Transition Technologies PSC experts talk about the 'Go Academy' initiative and the benefits of learning the Go programming language in delivering efficient solutions…
    Read more

    IT staff augmentation – flexible way of scaling the IT team

    IT staff augmentation increases the potential of your team. An additional specialist is support in completing daily tasks and meeting deadlines. The presence…
    Read more

    How to protect yourself from phishing using authentication?

    We live in the age of big data - they are more valuable than money in the world we live in. Identity theft…
    Read more

    What should you know about serverless computing?

    Serverless cmputing still raises a lot of doubts, especially among those environments that are just starting to use cloud services or are just…
    Read more

    6 Common misconceptions about Scrum methodology

    6 of the most common myths and misconceptions around Scrum so you can spot and avoid them.
    Read more

    Agility. All you need to know about the agile methodology

    What actually is agile? How did it all start? What are the principles that characterise this working method, how does it differ from…
    Read more

    WCAG 2.1 – what should you pay attention to?

    Imagine that you are a blind or visually impaired person and would like to log into your own bank account via a website…
    Read more

    On-line accessibility following WCAG standards and its impact on the company’s image.

    Now is a perfect time for a thorough analysis of our online activities while taking into account a broader perspective than before. Implementing…
    Read more

    WCAG – why it is worth having an accessible website, web systems and mobile app

    Have you ever wondered how blind and disabled people use websites? Standard activities that we perform on a daily basis on the Internet…
    Read more

    What is WCAG and how to meet compliance?

    The Modern society is very computerized. We want to have access to our music, books or movies wherever we are, regardless whether we’re…
    Read more

    New features in Java

    A lot has changed in Java. A few years have passed since the release of its most popular version 8. All the time…
    Read more

    Proxy Product Owner role in software development nearshoring and R&D augmentation

    Today it is an imperative to be able to quickly build and deliver innovative and advanced software products not only to keep the…
    Read more

    Nearshoring – more opportunities for your business

    The IT sector is one of the most dynamically evolving business industries. It is not only due to the technology it offers but…
    Read more

    How to build a professional development team in a few steps quickly and effectively – a case study

    The current trends in developing and supplying individual software for companies have significantly moved towards the model based on outsourcing. This is a…
    Read more

    FIDO – safer or more convenient?

    We have been trying for a long time to devise safer and more effective ways of identifying a user than by using a…
    Read more

    _Let’s get in touch

    Contact us