Modern Code Review: A Case Study at Google
Abstract
Employing lightweight, tool-based code review of code changes
(aka modern code review) has become the norm for a wide
variety of open-source and industrial systems. In this paper,
we make an exploratory investigation of modern code
review at Google. Google introduced code review early on
and evolved it over the years; our study sheds light on why
Google introduced this practice and analyzes its current
status, after the process has been refined through decades of
code changes and millions of code reviews. By means of 12
interviews, a survey with 44 respondents, and the analysis
of review logs for 9 million reviewed changes, we investigate
motivations behind code review at Google, current practices,
and developers’ satisfaction and challenges.
(aka modern code review) has become the norm for a wide
variety of open-source and industrial systems. In this paper,
we make an exploratory investigation of modern code
review at Google. Google introduced code review early on
and evolved it over the years; our study sheds light on why
Google introduced this practice and analyzes its current
status, after the process has been refined through decades of
code changes and millions of code reviews. By means of 12
interviews, a survey with 44 respondents, and the analysis
of review logs for 9 million reviewed changes, we investigate
motivations behind code review at Google, current practices,
and developers’ satisfaction and challenges.
Research Areas
