Forum Discussion

Anonymous's avatar
Anonymous
15 years ago

Should we have dedicated code reviewers or should everyone do code reviews?

In large organizations, there is more than enough code reviewing happening (even with an efficient process using CodeCollaborator) to consume a full time person. On a recent webinar, a question was as...
mattcaron's avatar
mattcaron
New Contributor
15 years ago
Here's my take on it:


  1. A given product/module/subdivision/etc. should have at least two developers who regularly work on it.

  2. Those developers should review each others' code.



Rationale:


  • You should be doing (1) anyway, if only for the redundancy of solving the "developer gets hit by a beer truck" problem.

  • Given (1), each has the appropriate context with which to evaluate the changes. Sure, anyone can look for bad code constructions, but unless you are familiar with how the code works or what the application is supposed to do, you are more likely to miss logical bugs. A dedicated reviewer lacks the context in which to fully appreciate what the application is supposed to do.