Code Walkthrough

A Code Walkthrough is a formal code review process where the author of the code takes the team through his/her code during a meeting. This process entails that the author sends the code to the critical stakeholders before the meeting time so that they can run test cases, analyze the code and prepare questions or comments. In the course of the walkthrough session, the team members express their views, ask questions and examine various features of the code while the author explains and provides rationale for the code.

Objectives of a Code Walkthrough

The general goals of a code walkthrough are however as follows; This is because the primary objectives of a code walkthrough can be different depending on the situation and the expectations of the team, although there are usually the following:

• Presenting the Code: The author shows the code to the team and explains what it does, how it works and how it is organized.
• Gaining Feedback: Thus, the walkthrough allows the team to give the feedback on the code which can help to enhance its quality.
• Evaluating the Code: The team checks the code against such parameters as its correctness, efficiency, readability, and compliance with the set coding standards.
• Exploring Alternatives: The session may also share and identify other possible ways or means to do it which may be more efficient.

Advantages of Code Walkthroughs

Code walkthroughs offer several benefits as a method of peer review:Code walkthroughs offer several benefits as a method of peer review:

• Collaborative Feedback: Walkthroughs allow the team members to exchange ideas and recommendations, thus contributing to the enhancement of the code through the discussion.
• Increased Awareness: Thus, when going through the walkthrough, the team members get to learn about various aspects of the project, and this makes them understand the system in its entirety and hence promote team work.
• Problem Identification: By using walkthroughs, potential issues or bugs in the code can be detected and pointed out in the early phase of the development hence not affecting the later phases of the project.

Challenges of Code Walkthroughs

However, there are some challenges that are associated with the use of code walkthroughs:

• Duplicate Analysis: If the team members analyze similar matters or come up with similar concerns, then it results in repetition and reduces the effectiveness of the process.
• Time Management: Scheduling a code walkthrough is not an easy task and takes a lot of time especially when you are working with other team members who are in other time zones. This can cause some complications in the scheduling and may also result to delays in the review process.
• Author Defensiveness: There is a tendency of becoming defensive when explaining ones code due to the nature of the walkthrough where the author is given a task to defend his/her code.

Conclusion

Code Walkthrough is a very useful technique in the process of software development, which helps in analyzing the code in detail with the help of a team and a pre-determined format. It fosters feedback from the team members, increases the team’s attention on the project, and makes it easier to detect possible issues at the early stage. Nevertheless, it raises some questions on duplicate analysis and conflicts of schedule, for instance. If done properly, code walkthroughs are very effective in enhancing the quality of the code and thus the success of a software project.