Recently in Project management Category
Code reviews
Ive been thinking quite a bit about the development process lately. There have been a couple projects I've been following at work that haven't gone exactly as I'd like them to; the developers were left to their own devices, and little guidance was given to their work.
One method I'd like to put in place for a couple of these developers is to strengthen the project scaffolding around their work. The projects they were working on had little or no rrquirements; those that were defined were weak and ill-defined, and weren't given great importance by the developers. We've been trying to put a more effective project documentation process in place, especially in departments outside of our own that have been running a bit loose. It's funny though - if you had told me three years ago that I'd be enforcing a project management process of m own free will, I'd have definitely looked at you funny. The benefit of it has definitely come clear to me though, and I can't imagine running a project without it now.
A big part of the problem is that these are junior developers placed in senior positions - they really should be paired with a senior developer. Of course, resources being what they are, that's not always feasible.
So how do I ensure these developers are successful in their work? The solution that occurs to me is to have their work go through a peer review process. This means that before their work can go to testing or production, it needs to be read and critiqued by developer.
Overall I think the code review process is a valuable one, and not just for junior developers. Senior developers can benefit as well. Indeed one of the most important activities for a developer of any experience level is to keep working. Having someone comment on your code and suggest more efficient / standard / new ways of doing things can be extremely beneficial.
What do you think? Is a code review a valuable exercise? Can you think of other peer activities developers should be engaging in?