What Is a Code Review?
A code review refers to the process of thoroughly examining a software application's code. By doing so, you can check the current state of your systems and make sure that they deliver high-quality results.
This includes identifying and eliminating errors and vulnerabilities at an early stage so that they do not cause problems in later stages of development or after release.
A code review also helps you spot code inconsistencies and deviations from specified standards, contributing to enhanced expertise across your team by fostering dialogue between developers.
Overall, a comprehensive code review enables you to continuously improve your software development processes, making it possible to create high-quality products even more efficiently.
Use Cases: When Do You Need a Code Review?
Improving Performance
Is your online shop too slow? Do your product pages take 4 seconds or even longer to load? Benefit from a professional evaluation of your code's performance. With the help of a code review, you can detect inefficient algorithms and resource bottlenecks before identifying optimisation opportunities.
Ensuring Security
Is your online shop exposed to vulnerabilities? Do you want to find out what you can do about it? A code review includes a security check, uncovering vulnerabilities and potential points of attack.
Enabling Global Growth
Do you want to expand your online shop internationally? Code reviewers check your system landscape for potential improvements and assess whether your codebase is ready for internationalisation.
Integrating New Systems
Do you want to add a new system to your existing architecture? A code review is also helpful in this regard, as it involves an in-depth system landscape assessment. This ensures that your architecture can easily be expanded and scaled.
Benefits: Why a Code Review Is Worth It
Time and Cost Efficiency
With the help of a code review, you can save time and reduce costs by identifying errors and vulnerabilities before they lead to major problems. The sooner this happens, the less effort you need to put into fixing them. Moreover, extensive documentation allows you to create code even more efficiently in the future.
Enhanced Code Quality
Make sure that your code is readable, highly performant and easy to maintain. Besides uncovering vulnerabilities, you can avoid »code smells« – poorly structured code that is difficult to understand and may result in new errors during further development. In addition, it is crucial to ensure compliance with industry-specific quality standards and best practices.
Exchange of Knowledge
Promote the transfer of knowledge between experienced and less experienced developers. By encouraging everyone involved to analyse your code in detail and discuss potential improvements, you can strengthen skills across your team.
Project Review: Make Sure That Your Entire Project Is Successful
Do you want to have your entire project checked, not just your code? Benefit from a professional project review.
Our experts provide a holistic assessment of your approach and your team's collaboration efforts and examine the methods and tools used.
This gives you an overview of the strengths and weaknesses associated with your project – along with specific suggestions for optimisation. You can then draw conclusions on how to proceed in future project phases and projects, ensuring that nothing stands in the way of your success.
More information on project reviews as an aspect of agile working can be found on our page dedicated to agile coaching.
Code Review Software: Increased Efficiency Through Process Automation
Besides procedures that require developers to check code manually, there is the option of using helpful tools.
A software-based code review makes it possible to automatically capture and display code changes, simplifying collaboration between code authors and the team carrying out the review.
Everyone involved can leave comments and interact with each other – regardless of their location.
Furthermore, code can be analysed and formatted according to specified standards, ensuring a clear focus on key tasks.
A Code Review Checklist Helps You Keep an Eye on the Essentials
When conducting a code review, there is a lot to consider and check. It makes sense to create a code review checklist so that everyone involved can stay on top of things without forgetting any important details. Such a checklist gives structure to the review process and serves as a guide for the team carrying out the review.
Together with you, we identify key elements to focus on, define the criteria to be checked and add them to your personal checklist. The following aspects may be helpful when compiling it:
- Consistency and comprehensibility of the source code
- Error detection
- Code security
- Performance
- Duplicate code
- Compliance with best practices
Our Code Review Services for Effective, Secure and Easily Expandable Systems
Before the Code Review
- Evaluation of your system landscape
- Examination of your priorities regarding the systems to be checked
- Definition of clear goals
During the Code Review
- Code review in terms of security, performance, maintainability and more
- Assessment of the overall architecture
- Inspection of your systems' current state
- Extensive documentation of findings with appropriate recommendations for action
After the Code Review
- Handover of analysis results
- Training of your employees
- A/B testing and penetration testing (if required)
- Support across other disciplines, including digital asset management, cloud migration and more
Why dotSource Is the Right Partner for a Code Review
Thanks to our wealth of experience as a digital agency, covering various industries and ranging from product information management and content management to e-commerce, we can provide you with the right experts for your specific needs.
Does the code review indicate that your system landscape needs to be optimised? Let us assist you in tackling other challenges, ensuring that nothing stands in the way of your digital success.
Other Digital Consulting Services at a Glance
FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions About Code Review
Why should you opt for a code review?
With the help of a code review, errors and vulnerabilities can be identified before they cause major problems due to cross-system dependencies. This allows you to ensure high code quality and security, provide a comprehensible, consistent structure and achieve the desired performance. Thanks to the extensive documentation of findings along with recommendations for action, your team can build up knowledge and create code even more efficiently in the future.
When does a code review make sense?
A code review is a suitable option if you plan to switch to a new service provider, notice performance problems or want to expand your systems. The team carrying out the review checks the current state of your codebase and documents vulnerabilities as well as suggestions for optimisation so that you can implement your project without any problems.
What does a code review with dotSource consist of?
Before the code review, we take a look at your existing architecture, set up a project plan, define clear goals and identify key elements to focus on. Our experts then check your code with regard to the specified criteria, for example performance, security and compliance with best practices. At the end, you benefit from transparent documentation of analysis results with appropriate recommendations for action, enabling you to maximise improvement.
Do you want to learn more? I'm looking forward to hearing from you!
