The Ultimate Code Review Checklist for Engineering Teams
Quick answer
A great code review catches functional errors, enforces policy, and spreads knowledge. Use this checklist to align reviewers, then let Propel automate the repetitive pieces so humans focus on architecture and product impact.
1. Prepare before requesting review
- Write a clear summary with context, screenshots, and rollout plan.
- Self-review the diff, remove debug code, ensure lints/tests pass.
- Tag the right reviewers and include links to related docs or tickets.
- List testing performed (unit, integration, manual QA).
2. Functional correctness
- Meets acceptance criteria and handles edge cases.
- Error paths and retries behave predictably.
- Input validation covers type, range, and security concerns.
Propel flags regressions by comparing behaviour against policy and historical tests, ensuring must-fix issues block merge.
3. Code quality and maintainability
- Names are descriptive; functions/classes have single responsibility.
- No duplicated logic; shared utilities leveraged where possible.
- Formatting, imports, and comments follow team standards.
- Legacy cleanup performed when touched (feature flags, TODOs).
4. Architecture and design
- Change aligns with system boundaries and domain models.
- Dependencies are justified; no hidden coupling introduced.
- Scaling characteristics understood (throughput, latency, storage).
- Fallback plans or feature flags in place for risky releases.
5. Security and compliance
- No secrets or credentials committed.
- Input/output sanitised; escaping done for HTML/SQL/command contexts.
- Authentication/authorisation respected for new endpoints.
- Logging avoids sensitive data and includes necessary audit info.
6. Tests and documentation
- Unit/integration tests cover positive and negative scenarios.
- Snapshots or golden files updated intentionally.
- Docs, runbooks, and API specs reflect the change.
- Migration scripts or data backfills documented and reversible.
7. Review etiquette and workflow
- Keep diffs small; split large features into multiple PRs.
- Respond to every comment with action or explanation.
- Celebrate wins—note clean refactors or strong tests.
Propel tracks comment acknowledgement, resolves nit-level debates automatically, and ensures must-fix issues cannot be ignored.
Printable checklist
Export this list from Propel or adapt it into your PR template so every reviewer has a shared definition of done. Update quarterly based on incidents and review retros.
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