Koderevisioner

Koderevisioner is the practice in software development of examining source code changes by one or more colleagues before they are merged into the main codebase. The goal is to identify defects, improve readability, enforce coding standards, and promote knowledge sharing. The term is common in Danish and Norwegian contexts and corresponds to code reviews or pull request processes in English.

The scope covers changes tracked in a version control system. Reviews can be lightweight or formal. They typically examine logic, correctness, maintainability, performance, and security, and they often accompany a unit test run. A pull request or merge request is usually the unit of work that undergoes review.

Core roles include the author, reviewers, and sometimes a moderator or maintainer. The usual workflow is: the author submits a change; reviewers comment; the author revises; finally the change is approved and merged. Some teams also use pair programming as a continuous alternative to asynchronous reviews.

Common tools are GitHub, GitLab, Gerrit, and Bitbucket, which provide inline diffs, comments, and status checks. Metrics such as review time and defect rate from reviews are tracked, and automation (static analysis and tests) is often integrated.

Benefits include higher code quality, reduced production defects, and better knowledge transfer. Challenges include time costs, potential bottlenecks, inconsistent feedback, and reviewer fatigue. Best practices include keeping diffs small, using checklists, and providing constructive feedback.

Historically, formal inspections were developed in the 1970s (Fagan inspection). Modern code review practices arose with Agile and DevOps, emphasizing lightweight, asynchronous reviews and integration with continuous delivery.

See also: code review, pull request, pair programming, static analysis, software quality assurance, version control.