Force.com Code Review Checklists
I am a big advocate of code reviews. I strongly encourage every team to adopt code reviews before merging each one's contribution into the codebase. Code reviews don't take long and have many benefits:
- they make developers learn from each other
- they encourage people to write better code
- they help disseminating best practices
- they help keeping the code internally consistent and easier to maintain
- they reduce costs due to later reworks
These are the checklists I use for code reviews when working on Force.com projects. Enjoy!
Tips for developers
- Keep your code simple. Do not overcomplicate problems.
- Keep your code easy to read for humans.
- Avoid everything that is not necessary: every line of code that is not needed is a potential bug.
- Remember that the point of reviews is to spot problems. Don't take things personally.
- Accept you will make mistakes.
Tips for reviewers
- Code reviews should last no more than 15 minutes.
- Try to review no more than 400 lines of code at a time.
- Ask questions rather than making statements.
- Avoid asking "Why did you do X?". Ask instead "Have you considered Y?"
- Treat people who know less than you with respect and patience.
- Remember to praise.
- Remember that there is often more than one way to approach a solution.