Organizing Effective Zoom Code Reviews

Zoom has revolutionized how we conduct code reviews, making it possible to efficiently collaborate on software development from anywhere in the world. Here's a quick guide to organizing effective Zoom code reviews:

Choosing the Right Tools: Use the Zoom app and consider extensions or built-in features in coding programs for easier screen sharing.
Preparing Your Environment: Tidy up your digital workspace and ensure your internet connection is stable.
Conducting the Review: Start with a clear agenda, encourage open communication, and use Zoom's features like screen sharing and drawing tools to discuss code in real-time.
Best Practices: Keep reviews concise, focused, and constructive. Address disagreements calmly and document decisions and action items post-review.
Continuous Improvement: Seek feedback and use it to refine your code review process.

By following these steps, you can make your Zoom code reviews more productive and engaging, ensuring your team can collaborate effectively, even from afar.

Choosing the Right Tools

When picking tools for Zoom code reviews, focus on ones that work well with your coding setup and make sharing your screen easy. Here's what you should consider:

The Zoom app on your computer works better for meetings than using it in a browser. It's better for showing your screen.
If you're going to share your coding work directly, add the Zoom extension for Chrome or Firefox. This lets you share just one window, not everything on your screen.
Some coding programs (like Visual Studio Code or PyCharm) have Zoom built-in. This makes joining meetings from your coding environment super simple.
For drawing or explaining things visually, get Zoom's drawing tools or a digital whiteboard app (like Miro or Mural) that you can show through Zoom.

Making sure everything works together smoothly means you can focus on the code review without tech hiccups. Try everything out before your meeting to catch any issues with sharing or sound.

Preparing Your Environment

To get ready for a Zoom code review:

Tidy up your computer screen. Close any programs or tabs you don't need.
In Zoom's settings, turn off the option for 'Optimize for full screen video' and lower your screen resolution if things are slow.
Switch Zoom notifications to 'Do Not Disturb' so you won't get interrupted.
Wear a headset to make sure everyone can hear you clearly, and keep your microphone close.
If your internet is slow, ask others to turn off their video. This gives more internet power to sharing your screen.
For long meetings, plug in your computer so it doesn't run out of battery.

Spending a few minutes to get these things right means everyone can focus on the code, not on tech problems. It also shows you value everyone's time by being ready to share your work in a clear and professional way.

Conducting the Code Review on Zoom

Initiating the Review Session

To start a Zoom code review that works well:

Pick a time that suits everyone for the meeting and send out invites with the Zoom link.
A week before, remind everyone to get Zoom ready and any other tools they might need. This helps fix any tech problems early.
The day before, send out an agenda that talks about what we're aiming to do, what code we'll look at, and who's in charge of what.
At the start of the meeting, quickly check that everyone can share their screen and use the drawing tools.
Begin with a short talk about what we hope to achieve and the rules for giving and getting feedback.

This way, everyone comes ready to dive into the code, not fuss over tech issues.

Effective Communication During the Review

To talk well during a Zoom code review:

Make sure everyone feels welcome to share their thoughts, no matter their experience level.
Use Zoom's chat for extra questions or comments to keep the main conversation smooth.
Talk clearly and take breaks for questions.
Use Zoom's reaction icons like thumbs up or hand raises to give feedback without stopping the talk.
If there are a lot of us, have someone help keep the conversation on track and include quieter folks.

Good talking helps everyone feel heard and adds more depth to the code discussion.

Reviewing Code in Real-Time

When looking at code together on Zoom:

Have the person in charge share just their code window to keep everyone focused.
Use the drawing and marking tools to point out specific things.
Move through the code slowly so everyone can follow.
If we need to look at something specific, have them open it in a new window to share.
For tricky parts, watching the person make changes live can help us understand better.

Using Zoom like this makes the review active and clear.

Engaging All Participants

To get everyone involved in the Zoom code review:

Start by getting a quick comment from each person.
Ask quieter people about their thoughts on the code to bring them into the conversation.
If a few people are talking too much, gently steer the chat so everyone gets a turn.
For big groups, split into smaller teams to get more feedback.
End by asking for any last thoughts from everyone.

Making sure to include everyone leads to better, more complete code reviews.

Best Practices for Zoom Code Reviews

Keeping Reviews Concise and Focused

Break down code changes into small parts. Aim for less than 400 lines of changes to keep things simple.
Before the review, let everyone know what parts of the code they should focus on.
Use checklists and templates to help guide the discussion to the most important topics.
Limit meetings to 45 mins to 1 hour to encourage staying on point.
Review the code on your own before meeting up to talk about it. This saves time.

Providing Constructive Feedback

Talk about the code's structure and how it's designed, rather than small details like variable names.
When pointing out issues, also suggest how to improve them.
Mix in positive feedback with any critiques.
Keep an open mind and assume everyone is trying their best.

Handling Disagreements and Blockers

When you don't agree, talk it out calmly and with respect. Stay away from arguments.
Try to find a middle ground, but if you can't agree, follow the team's standards.
If there's a big issue, ask a tech lead for advice.
To keep things moving, decide who will do what next and by when.
Write down what was decided so you can look back on it if you need to.

Follow-Up After the Code Review

Documenting Decisions and Action Items

After a code review meeting, it's key to write down the main points, decisions, and what everyone needs to do next. This makes sure everyone knows what's expected and helps keep track of progress.

Here's how to do it:

Pick someone to take notes during the meeting or just record it.
Quickly go over the main points and decisions at the end to make sure everyone's on the same page.
Write down who needs to do what and by when.
Share the notes and to-do list with everyone after the meeting.
Keep these documents where everyone can find them, like on a wiki or GitHub.
Use calendar reminders for any deadlines or future meetings.
Check on the to-do list in later meetings to see how things are going.

Writing things down helps avoid confusion later and makes sure we stick to our plans.

Continuous Improvement

We should always look for ways to make our code reviews better. Here are some tips:

Get feedback: After each review, ask everyone what worked and what didn't. Use a tool to keep track of this anonymously.
Look at the data: Check things like how long reviews take or how many mistakes we find. Use this info to find ways to improve.
Learn from problems: If we run into disagreements or issues, talk about it afterwards to figure out how to avoid it next time.
Update our rules: As we get better, go back and improve our guidelines and checklists.
Use tools to help: Tools like code checkers can save time by catching easy mistakes, so we can focus on bigger issues.
Try new things: Be open to new ideas, like doing reviews with the whole team or adding in design checks.

By always looking for ways to get better, our code reviews can keep helping us make great software, learn more, and work well together.

Conclusion

To make Zoom code reviews work well, you need a bit of prep, good talking, and sticking to some smart steps - and it really pays off. Here's a quick look back at the main ideas:

Get ready by picking the right tools, setting up your space, and starting the meeting right. This gets everyone on the same page from the start.

Talk well during the review by making sure everyone gets a chance to speak, using Zoom's handy features, showing things clearly, and keeping the conversation focused. This makes the discussion deeper and more useful.

Do detailed reviews by showing just the code that matters, going at a good pace, making changes together, breaking into smaller teams, and so on. This helps spot more problems.

Stick to good habits like keeping reviews short and to the point, giving helpful feedback, and dealing with disagreements in a positive way. This makes sure you get a lot out of the time you have.

Write down what you decide after the meeting so everyone knows their next steps and can keep track of how things are going.

Always get better by asking for feedback, looking at how things went, updating how you do things, and trying new approaches. This makes your code reviews even more valuable.

With a little work and planning, Zoom can make code reviews really effective, even when everyone's working from different places. Being able to see each other and go through the code together helps us make better software and build a stronger team. As we get better at running Zoom code reviews, they become a key part of how we work.

How do you organize code reviews?

Here are 5 simple steps for setting up good code reviews:

Make a checklist that covers important parts like how the code works, testing, if it's secure, and how fast it is.
Use numbers to keep track of things like how many mistakes you find and how much of the code you look at.
When giving feedback, be clear about why something needs to change and offer ideas on how to make it better.
Try not to look at more than 200-400 lines of code at once to make sure you can really focus on it.
Use tools that automatically check for common issues like coding style or security problems.

How do you make code reviews more efficient?

Here are tips to make code reviews quicker and more useful:

Stick to reviewing less than 400 lines of code each time.
Give yourself enough time to really understand the code.
Keep review meetings short, ideally under an hour, to stay sharp.
Have clear goals and keep an eye on things like how often reviews happen and how effective they are.
Before the review, ask the person who wrote the code to point out any tricky parts.
Use a checklist that fits what you're working on.
Have a set way to deal with any problems you find.

How do you provide feedback to code review?

Tips for giving helpful feedback:

Focus on the code, not the person. Be nice.
Share your thoughts clearly so they understand why you're suggesting changes.
Mix direct advice with questions that make them think.
If something's complicated, suggest breaking it down or explaining it better in comments.

Who should perform code reviews?

Code reviews are best done by people who really know the topic of the code. If the code touches different areas, get two reviewers, each an expert in one of those areas.