Is Code Review a Waste or a Time Saver for Your Digital Product?

No matter how good a developer is, he can make mistakes. And here code review comes to the rescue, that is, checking by one developer of code written by another developer. Moreover, a person with new methods and approaches may come to the team, and his vision may differ. And this should also be used for the benefit of your project.

Thus, code reviews are a quality control procedure for a product. Thanks to this, quality standards in terms of readability, logic, and so on can also be met. So what is a review code: a necessity or an over-insurance? Let's try to answer in this article.

The Hidden Time-Saving Benefits of Code Reviews

So, let's talk about what significant advantages the review code provides.

1. Providing a unified view of design and implementation

Each developer has their own approaches and styles of writing code. But it is important to understand that someone will work with his code later on and the unique style can interfere with this. Standardization of the code makes it easier to understand the code and its refinement and expansion of functionality in the future. This process is an investment in the long term, because project support teams can change and spend time analyzing what is happening is not at all rational.

2. Code optimization for better performance

This is especially true for experienced developers. When code is reviewed by senior specialists, two goals can be achieved simultaneously: improving code performance and training a specialist. It also allows you to eliminate possible critical errors at the very beginning of work. But senior developers are also reviewed, usually, they are reviewed by colleagues or, for example, architects.

3. Cooperation and sharing of new methods

One of the non-obvious benefits is ensuring the return on investment in a particular person. Feedback after a code review is an excellent base for working on bugs and working out your shortcomings and weaknesses.

4. Project quality monitoring and compliance

Each project has its own requirements and standards that it must meet. But even with clear instructions, sometimes there are errors in the interpretation of requirements, and just in the code review, they can be found and eliminated.

Thus, we can say that the code review is about functionality, quality, and improvement of the team and its level.

What’s in It for an Agile Team?

The main idea of an Agile team is to have a group of people who are united by a common idea and purpose. They are more flexible and adaptive in their work and this gives them a number of advantages. The main difference between such a team and the traditional one is a high level of self-organization and self-management. This is a more progressive and modern approach to the concept of leadership.

Thus, the Agile team is a cross-functional group of 5-11 people who themselves define, create, test and provide an increase in profitability in the shortest possible time.

Other Advantages: Why Do We Do Code Reviews?

In a code review, one or more experts examine the source code written by other experts and provide a complete overview of its pros and cons. Sometimes, for the objectivity of the assessment, developers from another project may be involved. This approach can also ensure that the code is readable, even for those who are not familiar with the project's specifics.

Reviewing should be done continuously at all stages, except perhaps for small projects that are meant to be written quickly and have a short lifespan. Let's drown out that verification is needed even when creating an MVP and prototyping. All this helps to reduce costly quality control defects that are often discovered just before launch.

So, what areas of code, also known as expert areas, are reviewed? To a greater extent, the review covers the code base. Everything that is written for the operation of the application will be reviewed and analyzed by specialists.

When and Who Does Review Processes

It is believed that code verification should be carried out after the successful completion of automatic checks. This is about styles, tests, other CIs, but before the code is merged into the main branch of the repository.

When it comes to teamwork, development and validation can go hand in hand. If you hire a third-party team, then the review is carried out in the presence of ready-made functionality. You can also subsequently hire such a company to refine your application.

What Are the Code Review Best Practices Or How to Make Good Code Reviews Better

The main rule of code review is to focus on the code, not on its authorship. By checking and correcting the code, you can significantly improve your own code and subsequently make fewer mistakes when writing.

There are two more important tips:

1. Everyone is equal. Code review is not all about hierarchy, each team member has a voice and can review the code, even employees with less experience. Each developer has their own unique expertise and it is important to use it.

2. Criticism is an art. It is important to give recommendations, and not try to offend the author of the code. Place accents and priorities in necessary changes, then criticism will be appropriate and impersonal.

How to Conduct Code Review Processes?

Conducting code reviews can be difficult if you don't know how to do it properly. There are some common code reviews, we will consider them further.

1. Set goals and expectations

You should clearly understand what you expect from the review, describing it all in the checklist. Thus, you will receive a picture that meets your expectations and requests. In addition, if several developers participate in the review, this will help to unify their reports.

2. Include all experts in the code review process

Every programmer needs to be tested sooner or later. The fact is that everyone can make a mistake, and this is the main essence of the review code. For example, by engaging an architect to review code, you can gain a broader perspective.

3. Develop a Positive Review Presentation

You must convey to the team that the review is not a witch hunt but a development process. It is important that these errors were found and eliminated, which means that the product has become better and more reliable. The team should value feedback, not fear it.

4. Automate reviews

Today, there are a large number of tools to help developers check code. Some parts of the kuda are still checked manually, but some aspects can be checked much faster and should be implemented.

Why Should You Hire Someone to Do Code Reviews?

Nobody is perfect, and the code even more so. If your app was written a long time ago, or if you find it is slow, then a code review can help you a lot. Because this process involves examining your code line by line and providing feedback based on the analysis.

In addition to explaining in detail what a review code is, it can also be explained as a fresh look at previously written code, especially if the reviewer has more experience or has a larger technology stack. Code review can save you time and effort in product development by saving you the hassle.

Let Pros Do the Boring Parts!

How Much Does It Cost to Make a Code Review?

The cost of a code review is estimated as the usual work of a developer. Accordingly, the cost of such work is based on the hourly rate of specialists. But the number of hours assigned to work will be determined during the project estimate.

When collaborating with developers, you as a business owner are not limited in the ways of cooperation: platform freelancing, outsourcing, outstaffing, or even hiring.

Final Thoughts

Our team believes that code review is an important aspect of any application. This practice brings great benefits to the developer himself, helping him grow and develop professionally. From our observations, we can say that a code review can protect your project from the problems and losses associated with them.