Experience-based code review templates to ensure consistent feedback and learning

Code Review Templates

Overview

These templates ensure code reviews are consistent, educational, and appropriate for the developer's experience level. Use the correct template based on the PR author's experience.

Code reviews are not just about finding bugs - they're opportunities for learning, knowledge sharing, and ensuring our "single author" consistency.

Review Templates by Experience Level

Code Review - Junior Developer

✅ Compliance Checklist

File placement follows decision tree
Naming conventions followed exactly
No TypeScript any types used
Error handling present for all async operations
Tests included for new functionality
Documentation updated

📚 Learning Objectives

Understands why this approach was chosen
Can explain the code's purpose clearly
Identifies potential edge cases

🎯 Growth Areas

Please provide:

One improvement for code clarity
One performance consideration
One additional test case

💬 Feedback Format

## What's Great 👍
- [Specific positive feedback with examples]
 
## Required Changes 🔧
1. [Clear, actionable change with example]
   ```typescript
   // Current
   [current code]
   
   // Suggested
   [improved code]

Learning Opportunities 📖

[Link to relevant documentation]
[Pattern to study in existing codebase]

Questions for Understanding 🤔

Can you explain why you chose [specific approach]?
What edge cases did you consider?


### 🎓 Mentorship Notes
- Focus on teaching, not just correcting
- Provide examples from our codebase
- Encourage questions
</Tab>

<Tab>
## Code Review - Mid-Level Developer

### ✅ Compliance Checklist
- [ ] Architecture aligns with established patterns
- [ ] Proper abstraction levels maintained
- [ ] Performance implications considered
- [ ] Security best practices followed
- [ ] Integration points properly handled
- [ ] Documentation comprehensive

### 🏗️ Architectural Alignment
- [ ] **Follows** domain boundaries correctly
- [ ] **Maintains** separation of concerns
- [ ] **Reuses** existing patterns appropriately

### 🔍 Deep Dive Areas
1. **Pattern Consistency**: Compare with similar features
2. **Error Scenarios**: Validate all paths covered
3. **Performance Impact**: Check for N+1, memory leaks
4. **Test Quality**: Beyond coverage numbers

### 💬 Feedback Format
```markdown
## Architecture & Design 🏛️
- [Comments on structural decisions]

## Implementation Quality 💎
- [Specific code quality observations]

## Suggestions for Enhancement 🚀
1. [Advanced pattern that could be applied]
2. [Performance optimization opportunity]

## Knowledge Sharing 🤝
- [Pattern that others could learn from]
- [Candidate for shared utility/component]

🎯 Focus Areas

Pattern recognition and reuse
Cross-feature consistency
Performance optimization opportunities

Review Response Templates

For PR Authors

## PR Author Response Template
 
### Changes Made ✅
- [x] Fixed [issue 1] as suggested
- [x] Updated [component] to follow pattern
- [ ] Refactored [function] - need clarification
 
### Questions 🤔
1. Regarding [feedback point], could you clarify...?
2. I chose [approach] because... Is there a better pattern?
 
### Learning Notes 📚
- Learned about [pattern/concept]
- Will apply [technique] in future PRs

For Reviewers Following Up

## Follow-up Review
 
### Previous Concerns ✅
- [x] [Issue 1] - Resolved
- [x] [Issue 2] - Addressed well
- [ ] [Issue 3] - Still needs work
 
### New Observations 👀
- [Any new issues found]
 
### Ready to Merge? 🚀
[ ] Yes, all concerns addressed
[ ] No, see remaining items above

Best Practices

For All Reviews

Be Specific: Point to exact lines and provide examples
Be Kind: Remember there's a person reading your feedback
Be Educational: Every review is a learning opportunity
Be Consistent: Apply standards uniformly

Review Timing

Initial Review: Within 4 hours of PR creation
Follow-up: Within 2 hours of changes
Final Approval: After all checks pass

Escalation Path

Disagreement on Approach: Consult team lead
Architecture Concerns: Schedule design review
Breaking Changes: Require additional approvals

Automation Support

Pre-Review Checks

# Run before requesting review
npm run pre-review
 
# This runs:
# - TypeScript check
# - Linting
# - Tests
# - Bundle size check
# - Documentation check

Review Assignment

Based on PR content and developer experience:

UI Changes: Assign UI expert
API Changes: Assign backend expert
Critical Path: Require 2 reviewers
Junior PR: Assign mentor + peer

Code Review Templates

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