Code reviews are powerful means to improve the code quality, establish best practices and to spread knowledge. However, code reviews can come to nothing or harm interpersonal relations when they are done wrong. Hence, it’s important to pay attention to the human aspects of code reviews. Code reviews require a certain mindset and phrasing techniques to be successful. This post provides both the author and the reviewer with a compass for navigating through a constructive, effective and respectful code review.

From time to time I review code of my colleagues. Especially for a younger developer giving feedback to an older and experienced developer is hard. The colleague has to be open-minded for feedback and criticism. For this, it’s helpful to communicate how code reviews should be considered. I’m convinced that doing so will increase the acceptance of your feedback. But let’s get more concrete.