Effective Code Reviews with Conventional Comments • Paul Slaughter & Adrienne Braganza

This interview was recorded for GOTO Unscripted.https://gotopia.techRead the full transcription of this interview herePaul Slaughter - Staff Fullstack Engineer at GitLab & Creator of Conventional CommentsAdrienne Braganza Tacke - Senior Developer Advocate at Viam Robotics & Author of "Looks Good To Me: Constructive Code Reviews"RESOURCESPaulhttps://x.com/souldzinhttps://github.com/souldzinhttps://gitlab.com/pslaughterhttps://gitlab.com/souldzinhttps://souldzin.comAdriennehttps://bsky.app/profile/abt.bsky.socialhttps://x.com/AdrienneTackehttps://github.com/AdrienneTackehttps://www.linkedin.com/in/adriennetackehttps://www.instagram.com/adriennetackehttps://www.adrienne.iohttps://blog.adrienne.ioLinkshttps://conventionalcomments.orgDESCRIPTIONCan "Conventional Comments" transform code reviews from frustrating experiences into productive collaborations?Paul Slaughter shares his experience developing and practicing "Conventional Comments", a structured approach to improving code review communications through labeled feedback. The conversation explores clear communication patterns with labels (e.g. 'suggestion:', 'issue:' or 'question:').Paul and Adrienne discuss the importance of empathy in the review process, the balance between politeness and efficiency, and how GitLab's Code Review Weekly Workshops have helped normalize review experiences across their remote teams. The interview highlights that effective code reviews depend not just on technical evaluations but on thoughtful communication that acknowledges developers' emotional investment in their work while fostering a culture of collaborative ownership.RECOMMENDED BOOKSAdrienne Braganza Tacke • "Looks Good to Me": Constructive Code ReviewsAdrienne Braganza Tacke • Coding for KidsGrace Huang • Code Reviews in TechMartin Fowler • RefactoringMatthew Skelton & Manuel Pais • Team TopologiesDave Thomas & Andy Hunt • The Pragmatic ProgrammerBlueskyInstagramLinkedInFacebookCHANNEL MEMBERSHIP BONUSJoin this channel to get early access to videos & other perks:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs_tLP3AiwYKwdUHpltJPuA/joinLooking for a unique learning experience?Attend the next GOTO conference near you! Get your ticket: gotopia.techSUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL - new videos posted daily!