Software development is a complex process that involves a chain of time-consuming, laborious tasks. One of the needs of programmers is to write correct codes, high in quality and conform with project design and relevant standards.
Organizations and software development agencies institute proactive measures to ensure code quality and prevent potential problems to ensure things are done correctly. This is where code review comes in! Without it, buggy code is shipped, leading to a chain of undesirable outcomes, like frequent crashes, bad user experience, security challenges, etc.
To avoid spending more than necessary on fixing bugs after releasing features and probably losing customers, a comprehensive code review (an integral part of the development process) is the way to go.
What is a Code Review?
Code review is a type of quality assurance process aimed at ensuring that developers ship code of high quality by instituting well-planned assessments to spot and get rid of bugs. This helps developers to have their work reviewed and get a third-party opinion about their code.
Typically, experts come together to assess code, thereby identifying mistakes and providing high-end perspectives on implementing things better.
What Do Code Reviewers Do?
It is a quality assurance process with the major purpose of ensuring neat and bug-free work. That said, here are the areas of focus of code reviewers:
- Security Vulnerabilities - An important part of code review is the identification of security loopholes. This helps in releasing products with strong security architecture.
- Logic Errors - They look out for logic errors; which are common, especially when developing a product that requires a high volume of scripts. Logic errors can lead to security vulnerabilities. Therefore, getting rid of them helps in improving the overall security of your product.
- Requirements - Every project has a set of requirements that must be met to produce what the client wants. One of the responsibilities of code reviewers is to ensure that everything meets security requirements and is consistent with the overall program design. If some security best practices are lacking, code reviewers help to ensure the proper implementation of cyber security policies.
- Style Guidelines - In addition to project requirements, there are technical guidelines that must be followed. Experts assess a codebase to make sure it meets relevant technical style guidelines - coding standards.
- Quality of Comments - They also check the quality of comments and collaborate with developers to ensure everything aspect of the code is improved.
Why Do You Need a Code Review?
Having covered what code review is and what code reviewers do, we will take a look at why code review is important and why you need to integrate it as part of your application development process. Here are the advantages of code review:
1. Security
Security experts in code review teams ensure that vulnerabilities are resolved and security best practices are kept; enabling security compliance across every stage of the software development lifecycle.
2. Early Discovery of Bugs
Making code review an integral part of your software development process enables your team to discover and fix bugs early. Instead of discovering bugs when a product is already in the hands of users, you can effortlessly avoid such troubles by being proactive with code review.
Doing reviews at the early stages of development is better than waiting till the end of the development lifecycle. With unit tests, developers are able to fix problems easily since they can clearly remember code and solutions.
On the other hand, fixing bugs at the end of the development lifecycle or when a product has been shipped is more expensive, labor-intensive, and technically demanding. In addition, discovering bugs when features have been shipped always comes at a cost. You could lose customers or make your brand less trustworthy.
3. Sharing of Knowledge
Code review helps developers share knowledge. It provides the platform where senior and more experienced engineers help junior developers to learn and improve their skills.
4. Compliance Maintenance
It is difficult to maintain a given coding standard when a project involves many developers. The reason is that every developer may have a unique background and experience. As a result, it is difficult to adhere to a common coding style. You can get your team to comply with a chosen style. Conducting reviews on the go helps to spot and fix inconsistencies on time.
5. Better Collaboration
Code review brings teams together, enabling them to discuss how to improve code quality and get rid of potential problems.
How to Perform a Code Review
There are two major ways to perform a code review: with an in-house team of reviewers and outsourcing to a third-party professional code reviewing agency. Both are effective; however, outsourcing to a third party comes with some benefits you can not afford to miss.
It is cost-effective and also gives you access to a team of experts that specialize in code review. A third-party reviewer brings a fresh and unbiased perspective when assessing code. You can ensure greater efficiency and expert input by working with an independent team.
Why Should You Choose WebSec for Your Code Review?
If you are looking for the right company for your code review needs, search no further than WebSec, a leading provider of code review services and a wide range of cyber security solutions in Europe and beyond. The company works with teams of vetted experts with many years of experience in code review.
With them, you are sure to ship high-quality code that meets every relevant standard. Best of all, their services are affordable and the experts will collaborate effectively with your team to ensure your requirements and goals are reached.
Wrapping Up
Integrating code review with every stage of your development lifecycle will help you avoid troubles and build high-quality products. This will save you some avoidable expenses and stress that come with discovering bugs late in the software development lifecycle or after the product has been released.
That said, you can rely on us to ensure maximum code quality and compliance with coding styles. Here at WebSec, we provide superior code review services by delivering unbeatable high-quality work at the best rates. Contact us now!