Seminar The Triadic Nature Of Code Review

Abstract:

This talk examines code review as a rich practice at the intersection of technical work and human collaboration. Often viewed primarily as a means of detecting defects, code review is, in reality, a complex activity that supports learning, communication, and collective reasoning about software. We will explore its technical, social, and cognitive dimensions, tracing how it has evolved into a central site of interaction and sensemaking in software teams. Drawing on insights from ten years of empirical research, the talk will highlight how developers think, communicate, and make decisions during code review, and how this understanding can inform more effective, evidence-based tools and practices.

Bio:

Alberto Bacchelli is a professor of Empirical Software Engineering at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, where he leads the Zurich Empirical Software Engineering Team (ZEST). He has received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. from the University of Bologna, Italy, and his Ph.D. from the Università della Svizzera Italiana, Switzerland.

Alberto has received a number of awards for his contributions to software engineering and computed supported collaborative work, including the ACM SIGSOFT Impact Paper award 2025, the MSR Ric Holt Early Career Achievement Award 2020, the 10-year Most Influential Paper award from SANER, as well as a total of eight Best Paper Awards and ACM SIGSOFT Distinguished Paper Awards, awarded from the top academic venues in SE and CSCW.