Colleague doesn't review code or docs in time
I have had issues with some of my teammates where code or docs don't get reviewed early and a ton of feedback is left the day before the deadline. This is after sending multiple reminders almost everyday leading up to the deadline and I don't like escalating because it feels like I am snitching on them. I do give reminders in our weekly standup and our common channel.
I got tired of this happening and setup a code bot to send reminders to everyone in the code channel and have considered sending out email reminders (nobody else really does this) or booking a meeting in advance before I even start coding. I tried a concept similar to RFC but I still don't get feedback in time. I get it people are busy but they just completely ignore me, I don't even get a slack sometimes saying they are busy.
I am an SDE 1 if that helps
Discussion
(2 comments)- 3a year agoMeta, Pinterest, Kosei
How are you asking for the code review? I've seen many engineers just repeatedly ask "can I please have a code review?" without any additional context. This is why bots are usually an ineffective solution, since they're easy to ignore and lacking context.
Instead, could you communicate why this code review matters to you and the team?
This code change is really important to land a few days before the sprint planning since I want to give it at least a week of soak time in QA to ensure the best user experience. Working back from that, I'd really appreciate your eyes on this by Friday so we have a few days buffer.
This gives me much more context as a reviewer about why you're pushing so hard on this -- it's not just for your benefit, but the whole team/feature might suffer without.
- If you find your messages are falling on deaf ears, I'd schedule a meeting with the relevant person to explain the context and get their perspective.
- If there are multiple people who could review your code, sometimes there's an issue where everyone thinks that someone else will do the review. This should be the job of the TL or EM to sort out, or I'd recommend you explicitly ping one person. Make it clear who you are relying on.
Finally, I recommend this code machine masterclass (one part in particular is about making code review easier by calling out hotspots where you want feedback)
- 2
a year agoSeries B StartupIt sounds like you have done many things in your power to resolve this issue. I have been on this boat before, (and it was excruciating when the reviews were waiting on senior or staff engs that were overburdened already), and I personally think it is worth bringing up to your managers. I do not regard it as “snitching”, (I guess you will have to word tactfully) esp since it affects team’s velocity and also reflects badly on your manager. Do you have a manager? (There were times when my team did not and my soul died a little bit each time this happened 🥲.)
Secondly, I noticed this idea from a colleague who @here’s the team on Slack, linking the PR and starting a Google Hangout so that they can explain the PR to urge reviews afterwards. Although, I am not sure how effective this will be for you given you actively bring it up during standup etc.
