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Code reviews

Code reviews are an essential part of maintaining high-quality, consistent and efficient software. They help ensure that code meets functionality requirements, follows best practices, and remains maintainable over time. A well-structured review process fosters collaboration, improves overall code quality, and reduces technical debt. This checklist serves as a guide to evaluate key aspects such as functionality, readability, reusability, robustness, performance, security, compatibility, and test coverage, ensuring that every change contributes positively to the codebase.

Code review checklist

Functionality

  • The code does what it should do
  • The code compiles successfully without any errors

Code quality

  • Code is clear, concise, and understandable
  • Variable and function names are descriptive and consistent
  • Correct case and formatting are used
  • Code is appropriately commented
  • No "TODO" comments are present
  • No unnecessary imports remain in the code

Reusability & maintenance

  • Utilises reusable components, functions and libraries as applicable
  • Avoids redundancy by not repeating code blocks
  • Ensures that any refactoring considers all impacted functionalities

Robustness & error handling

  • Implements consistent and graceful error handling
  • All possible errors are handled, with clear explanations if left unhandled
  • Errors are logged/reported to external services appropriately

Efficiency & performance

  • Database queries are optimised with efficient indices
  • Contains no obvious performance bottlenecks
  • Careful integration of external libraries to maintain performance

Security

  • The code is audited for potential security threats and vulnerabilities

Compatibility

  • Ensures backward compatibility with existing systems and functionalities

Test coverage

  • The related ticket includes sufficient information for testing the changes