Compassionate Code Reviews

This Guide is based on the talk of the same name by April Wensel.

• slides: Compassionate (Yet Candid) Code Reviews
• video: to be added

3 Filters for compassionate code reviews

1. Is it true?
2. Is it necessary?
3. Is it kind?

Examples:

Do's

• "In this case, I would advise against...because..."
• "Could you explain your decision to...? Did you consider...?"
• "Would it make sense to...to help with...?"
• "According to this guide..."
• "I've often seen..."
• "Did you consider..."

Don'ts

• No 'Shoulding' on others:
  • "You should never..." (Is it true?)
  • "These should really be..." (Is it true?)
• Pudding without the proof:
  • "It's best practice to..." (Is it true?)
  • "The right way to..." (Is it true?)
• "This is a nitpick, but..." (Is it necessary?)
• "This is fine, but we should really rewrite this whole module" (Is it necessary?)
• "Why didn't you just..." (Is it kind?)