Don't teach during pull request code reviews

Nice insight into why you should not see PR reviews as a time to teach...

In this post, I’ll show you a common pitfall you should avoid when you set out to teach during code reviews.

You probably heard it already but, yes, code reviews are an excellent way to teach, learn and help each other.

But, and here comes a big BUT, please do not “play teacher” during code reviews.

So, what do I mean by that?

Well, recently I did an exhaustive search on what people recommend when giving code review feedback for one of my code review workshops. While I saw some excellent pieces of advice, such as here and here, I also came across quite a few examples that are in strong contrast to the experience I have improving and optimizing code review processes at Microsoft and beyond.

Also, the advice strongly contradicts the findings of the latest code review research.

I thought what better way to share my perspective and reveal some code review pitfalls, than using real-world examples? Today’s one is about how (not) to “teach” during code reviews.