HOW TO ACCELERATE CODE REVIEWS WITH NUDGES: INSIGHTS FROM MICROSOFT'S STUDY

Summary from the TLDR newsletter

Pull requests (PRs) are essential for ensuring code quality and enabling collaboration across teams, but they can become major bottlenecks. Microsoft and the Delft University of Technology conducted a comprehensive study that analyzed 22,875 pull requests to uncover the key factors that contribute to delays in PR completion. The study led to the development of Nudge, an automated system designed to send timely 'nudges' to authors and reviewers. Using Nudge reduces PR completion times by 60%. This article looks at the key insights from Microsoft's research and explores how nudges transform the code review process.