Code Review Like a PRO
5 Essential Tips for Doing Code Reviews in the Age of AI
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Motivation
AI changes the game. It spits out code in seconds. But that makes your ability to review code more important than ever.
Our focus often shifts from writing code to reviewing it. Reviewing code efficiently is the new superpower in the era of AI.
In this article, I will share 5 tips on how I review code in my team:
Drop the Ego, Comment with Kindness
The first rule of code reviews is to be kind. Always critique the code itself, never the coder. Be clear about your feedback on the code quality, but gentle and supportive toward the individual.
Encouragement is also powerful, so always leave at least one positive comment to boost morale and foster a culture of continuous improvement.
Focus on The Meat
When I start reviewing a PR, I immediately look for the most important part of the change. For example, what's the new API endpoint or the core piece of business logic.
Ask yourself: "Why is this change needed?" When you know the WHY, reviewing becomes easy. Never review code in isolation. Always think bigger: Is it easy for users? Is it secure? Will it perform well under load?
This simple shift in thinking will level up your reviews instantly.
Nitpick Like a PRO
Most developers hate nitpicks in code reviews. But when done right, they are excellent tools to improve quality. Here are 5 tips on how I nitpick in my team:
Prefix your comment with "Nit:"
Use it for small improvements like namings or typos
Suggest, never command
Offer examples to clarify your point
Approve the PR if you have only nitpicks - don't block
Now compare these two examples:
❌ Change that function name, it's bad
✅ Nit: I would rename that function to express business knowledge. For example: findAvailableFlights
Small change, big difference.
Find Missing Tests with Mutation Testing
My favorite part of reviewing my colleagues' code is running mutation tests on their PRs. I quickly clone their PR branch and do the testing locally. My goal is to find missing tests—and I always do. That's the power of Mutation Testing.
Mutation Testing will tell you how good your tests are. It reveals exactly where you're missing tests or assertions.
This single habit has greatly improved our team's confidence in delivering reliable software.
Do Real-Time Review With Pair Programming
Real-time feedback always beats delayed code reviews. Pair and Mob programming let your team spot mistakes immediately. You don't need to wait for slow PR reviews. This saves your team lots of time and prevents costly bugs.
Plus, coding together helps everyone learn faster. Junior developers level up quickly, and seniors become better mentors. It's teamwork at its best—more collaboration, fewer bottlenecks, and a happier, stronger team overall.
Conclusion
In the age of AI, code reviews matter more than ever. AI can generate code and tests, but it's still your responsibility to ensure correctness through strong reviews and Mutation Testing.
If you want to learn Mutation Testing and Test-Driven Development, check out my recently launched complete TDD course, which includes:
The fundamentals of Test-Driven Development
Three real-world TDD examples in C#, TypeScript and Rust
The power of Mutation Testing
Using TDD to design high-quality software
Testing legacy code
Refactoring best practices