Product discovery for code re-review

Problem to solve

Code review as a process is much more than leaving simple feedback. It is the collaborative and human process that:

1. protects code quality, and
2. mentors developers little by little each day

These co-equal objectives must be more than possible, but encouraged. Using GitLab should encourage a rich, best practice approach to code review.

Although possible, neither of these objectives is easily achieved in their fullest sense.

Further details

See the epic for more info and related issues: &314 (closed)

Proposal

Objective: develop more detailed vision, priorities of problems. Map the tasks involved in best practice code review.

• @katokpara User interviews
  • Scheduling --> follow progress in research issue: https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/ux-research/issues/168.
  • Conduct interviews.
  • Create an interview guide.
  • Read relevant Epics and feedback
    • See Create team's comments below
  • Check for previous research related to code review --> ux-research#21 (closed), ux-research#29, ux-research#132 (notes on approvals)
• @jramsay: Understand/Identify customer types for code (re)review cycles (GitLab Internal; Commercial; Open source; Scientific community)
• @pedroms: Competitor analysis (see Competitive landscape for code review (category direction))
  • gitlab-com/www-gitlab-com!33282 (merged)
  • gitlab-com/www-gitlab-com!33300 (merged)
  • https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tV5vLP-q5-KmaGS2aUsObxZwUDpIakLbr_T3KbKdLjM/edit?usp=sharing

Future steps

1. Identify 3 tasks that are most seriously obstructed, and propose MVC solutions for these (11.11/12.0)
2. Develop a larger vision for reforming code review, and making it truly unique and best in class (12.0)

Links / references

• Code Review UX Research Findings: &1259 (closed)