Code Review

Systematic code review methodology for consistent, effective, and humane reviews that improve both code and team culture.

Core Principles

1. Review the Author, Not Just the Code

Every review is a human interaction. The goal is shared understanding and team growth, not ego or gatekeeping. Be constructive, specific, and kind.

2. Catch Problems Early, Fix Them Forever

A bug caught in review costs 10x less than one caught in production. Use each review as an opportunity to add automated checks so the same issue never needs a human review again.

3. Balance Depth with Velocity

Deep reviews catch more issues but slow delivery. Shallow reviews miss things. Adapt depth to risk: security-critical code gets exhaustive review; trivial config changes get a quick skim.

4. Automate Everything You Can

If a reviewer can point out a formatting issue, a lint violation, or a missing test — that check should be automated. Human attention is for design, logic, and tradeoffs.