Code reviews are an important part of software development. They can help a team to reinforce and follow standards and best practices, help developers to optimize their code, and prevent bad or bugged code from being released. Here are some tips for approaching code reviews in a way that is more effective, productive, and conducive to collaboration.

Understand and Communicate Context

It is important for a reviewer to understand what a code change is actually doing, how that area of the code relates to other parts of the code, and the impact the change will have on a program. Reviewing something without fully understanding it can lead to approvals being given despite there being issues in code. It can also lead to reviewers giving feedback that is not accurate or not as helpful as it could be. If a reviewer does not understand the context for a code change then it is important for them to either ask for context or to forward the change to a team member who does understand.

It is also important for a reviewer to give proper context in the comments they leave. For example, instead of telling someone to make a change, it can be helpful to tell someone why the change is necessary or how it would be beneficial. This helps a code author to get a better understanding of what the issue is and gives them insight into how to resolve an issue. It also could potentially give someone a better understanding of standards or best practices.

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