SG Symposium December 2023
The Triadic Nature Of Code Review
Alberto Bacchelli
University of Zürich
15 Dec 2023, 16:15–17:00
ETH Zurich, ML E12
Abstract
This talk explores the multifaceted nature of code review in software development, delving into its three core dimensions: technical, social, and cognitive. While commonly perceived as a straightforward process aimed at bug detection, the talk will show how code review plays a broader role, significantly impacting knowledge transfer, team dynamics, and shared code ownership. In addressing the triadic nature of code review, we will discuss its evolution from a tool for code inspection to a critical element of social software engineering. This talk will present highlights from ten years of investigations on code review, with the goal of informing evidence-based code review tools and practices.
Short Biography
Dr. Bacchelli, an associate professor at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, leads the Zurich Empirical Software Engineering Team (ZEST). His research vision centers on revolutionizing software engineering through empirical research and innovative software tools. His mission is to enhance our understanding of software development practices and to develop evidence-based software tools, languages, and development environments for high-quality software engineering. His contributions to modern code review have earned him the MSR Ric Holt Early Career Achievement Award in 2020. Additionally, his work on integrating AI-based recommendation tools into IDEs garnered the 10-year Most Influential Paper award from SANER. Dr. Bacchelli is also the recipient of eight among Best Paper Awards and ACM SIGSOFT Distinguished Paper Awards from leading academic conferences in software engineering and computer-supported collaborative work.