How can you establish a mobile app code review frequency in a continuous delivery environment?

It plays an important role in the life of an application. Effective code reviews help in understanding the functionality and extendability of the implemented functionality.

Reviewing code helps to understand what we wrote on our application. It also helps to find vulnerabilities and other issues or bugs in our application. Imagine a scenario if you complete a screen for diet plan. For some reason you block a access to download the diet plan and forget to unblock it. If you are not review your code and push it to production, it makes feature unfinished to the client. So for that code review more important than anything.

In a continuous delivery environment, setting a mobile app code review frequency is crucial for reaping the benefits of code reviews. Regular reviews enhance code quality, catch bugs early, and promote knowledge sharing among team members. Establishing a consistent schedule, such as weekly or bi-weekly, fosters a proactive approach to identifying and addressing issues promptly. This iterative feedback loop not only improves code maintainability but also ensures alignment with project goals. Ultimately, a well-defined code review frequency is integral to achieving the overarching benefits of heightened collaboration and software reliability in the development process.

If code reviews are only performed using PRs, then it might lead to features being blocked. This can delay deployment and feature releases. To prevent such scenarios, some teams will make the reviews more superficial. There are many approaches on how to perform code reviews. Ideally for me, it should not block development. Additionally it should be open-ended, more like a discussion that is performed on a daily basis, during a pairing session.

In a continuous delivery environment, determining the frequency of mobile app code reviews involves balancing thorough examination with rapid release cycles. Challenges include managing time constraints, ensuring comprehensive coverage, addressing varying team schedules, maintaining code quality amidst rapid changes, and fostering a collaborative culture to facilitate effective reviews in a dynamic development landscape. Regularly reassessing the trade-offs and optimizing the review process helps strike a balance between agility and code integrity.

In theory, having small frequent PR and code reviews sounds ideal. In practice though, this can be challenging, especially when working with feature branches. In my opinion, feature branches have to be replaced with something more like a Trunk Bases Branching System. This allows now for Continous Integration, which supports small and frequent changes that are integrated often with the trunk. Combining that with a routing to review the code as a team in a session is a much better alternative. I invite everyone to explore other possibilities besides pull requests and feature branches.

In a continuous delivery environment, determine an optimal code review frequency by assessing project complexity and team dynamics. Consider setting regular intervals, such as weekly or bi-weekly, to ensure consistent feedback. Adjust frequency based on project milestones, critical changes, or emerging issues. Encourage open communication among team members to identify any immediate review needs. Periodically evaluate and adapt the code review frequency to enhance collaboration and maintain code quality.

Be empathic. Leave the ego at home. Be open to learning about the other developers. Ask clarifying questions. Make a routine to review the code together. Share your insights and suggestions. Establish some rules together that you are planning to follow. Automate as much as possible, automated testing suite, CI automated pipelines, and Swift Lint for examples.