Registration is now open for CppCon 2025! The conference starts on September 13 and will be held in person in Aurora, CO. To whet your appetite for this year’s conference, we’re posting some upcoming talks that you will be able to attend this year. Here’s another CppCon future talk we hope you will enjoy – and register today for CppCon 2025!

Mastering the Code Review Process

Wednesday, September 17 15:15 - 16:15 MDT

by Peter Muldoon

Summary of the talk:

In software development, significant attention is given to writing clean, maintainable code. Yet, despite the best of intentions, many codebases drift from structured practices due to inconsistent or ineffective code reviews. This is a real problem as it is the last line of defense before merging and deploying changes to production.

Engineers spend far more time reading code than writing it. Even small changes demand a thorough understanding of the surrounding code to prevent errors and unintended consequences. An effective code review process significantly amplifies good coding practices, structured problem-solving, and overall code quality.

This talk outlines core principles for conducting impactful code reviews emphasizing methodologies that balance consistent evaluation with the flexibility for handling the inevitable unusual situations.

We will also explore practical ways to measure code review effectiveness , enabling teams to continuously improve their code review process. What would a code review checklist look like? What are the consequences and friction points of a poor code review process?

As the code review process matures within an organization, it can also be shown to act as an effective instructional tool and drive positive organizational change , enhancing both the quality of the codebase and the capability of individual teams.

Pete Muldoon has been using C++ since 1991. Pete has worked in Ireland, England and the USA and is currently employed by Bloomberg. A consultant for over 20 years prior to joining Bloomberg, Peter has worked on a broad range of projects and code bases in a large number of companies both tech and finance. Such broad exposure has, over time, shown what works and what doesn't for large scale engineering projects. He's a proponent of applied engineering principles, elegant solutions and expressive code.