Technical leadership: reviews, mentoring, incidents and influence · Expert · Lesson 86 of 98 · about 6 hours
Setting the standard for code review
After this you can define what good review looks like on your team, model it in your own reviews, and make review faster without making it weaker.
Why it matters
Senior engineers set the tone for review. If your reviews nitpick style, the team's reviews will too. If you approve large unfocused changes, those become normal. Leading here means writing down what reviewers should look for, automating style with linters so humans do not argue about it, keeping turnaround fast, and explaining the reasoning behind your comments so they teach. Google's standard is the best starting point: approve changes that improve the overall health of the code, even if they are not perfect. Trap: blocking on preferences. Label non-blocking comments clearly.
How to use this resource
Read 'The Standard of Code Review' and 'Speed of Code Reviews' closely. These are the basis for most team review guides.