Teaching the Process of Code Review

Behavioural theory predicts that interventions that improving individual reviewers' expertise improves Software Development Technical Review group performance [3, p 6]. This includes both their expertise in the review process, as well as their ability to find defects and distinguish true defects from false positives. This paper presents findings from an attempt to train University students in these skills using authentic problems. The first year the course was run it was designed around actual code review sessions, the second year this was expanded to enable students to develop and trial their own generic process of Document Reviews. This report considers the success and shortcomings of the teaching program from an extensive analysis of the defect detection in the first year and from student feedback from the second year.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2004
• Where: ASWEC
• Authors: Tor Stålhane, Cat Kutay, Hiyam Al-Kilidar, D. Ross Jeffery
• Keywords: Actual Code Review, ASWEC 2004, Development Technical Review, Distinguish True Defects, Software Engineering