Small PRs, Big Impact: The Art of Code Reviews • Adrienne Braganza Tacke & Sasa Juric • GOTO 2025

This interview was recorded for GOTO Unscripted. #GOTOcon #GOTOunscripted https://gotopia.tech Read the full transcription of this interview here: https://gotopia.tech/articles/359 Adrienne Braganza Tacke - Senior Developer Advocate at Viam Robotics & Author of "Looks Good To Me: Constructive Code Reviews" @adriennebraganzatacke Saša Jurić - Author of "Elixir in Action" & The Ultimate Beacon in the Elixir Space @sasajuric5850 RESOURCES Adrienne https://bsky.app/profile/abt.bsky.social https://x.com/AdrienneTacke https://github.com/AdrienneTacke https://www.linkedin.com/in/adriennetacke https://www.instagram.com/adriennetacke https://www.adrienne.io https://blog.adrienne.io Saša https://bsky.app/profile/sasajuric.bsky.social https://twitter.com/sasajuric https://github.com/sasa1977 https://linkedin.com/in/sa%C5%A1a-juri%C4%87-21b23186 https://www.theerlangelist.com Links https://youtu.be/3NdTNJyuWbA https://youtu.be/ly86Wq_E18o https://youtu.be/4nVZ5tEUWfA https://youtu.be/-bCkha6U70o https://youtu.be/6Mzs5y_fjPE https://youtu.be/JvBT4XBdoUE https://youtu.be/EDfm2fVS4Bo https://youtu.be/LTFe7Zj-hzQ https://youtu.be/28S4CVkYhWA https://youtu.be/pzlqeX9nh1g DESCRIPTION Adrienne Braganza, author of "Looks Good to Me: Constructive Code Reviews", and Saša Jurić, author of “Elixir in Action”, explore best practices for effective code reviews. They discuss how smaller, well-organized pull requests lead to better feedback, the importance of comment classification, and when to take discussions offline. Both emphasize that code reviews aren't just about catching bugs—they're crucial for knowledge transfer and creating cohesive codebases. While AI tools can help with routine aspects, human judgment remains essential, especially as AI-generated code becomes more common. The speakers agree that when done well, code reviews become one of the most valuable practices in software development. TIMECODES 00:00 Intro 00:50 What is code review & why does it matter? 14:47 The art of code reviews: Why small, structured PRs matter 23:42 Effective code reviews: The reviewer’s role & responsibility 27:51 Code review clarity: Tagging comments for better collaboration 32:24 Handling disagreements 36:08 Pair programming vs code reviews 38:55 AI & code reviews 41:52 Outro RECOMMENDED BOOKS Adrienne Braganza Tacke • "Looks Good to Me": Constructive Code Reviews • https://amzn.to/3E75XrD Adrienne Braganza Tacke • Coding for Kids • https://amzn.to/3Ukd5Gw Saša Jurić • Elixir in Action • https://amzn.to/2RZh5eN Grace Huang • Code Reviews in Tech • https://amzn.to/4fbwYr8 Martin Fowler • Refactoring • https://amzn.to/3EVcHXQ https://bsky.app/profile/gotocon.com https://twitter.com/GOTOcon https://www.linkedin.com/company/goto- https://www.instagram.com/goto_con https://www.facebook.com/GOTOConferences #CodeReviews #PullRequest #TeamDynamics #CodeQuality #PairProgramming #TeamHappiness #SoftwareEngineering #Programming #AdrienneBraganza #AdrienneTacke #SasaJuric CHANNEL MEMBERSHIP BONUS Join this channel to get early access to videos & other perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs_tLP3AiwYKwdUHpltJPuA/join Looking for a unique learning experience? Attend the next GOTO conference near you! Get your ticket at https://gotopia.tech Sign up for updates and specials at https://gotopia.tech/newsletter SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNEL - new videos posted almost daily. https://www.youtube.com/user/GotoConferences/?sub_confirmation=1