Part 3 · 1 chapters · ~8 min

Receiving Feedback

Separating yourself from the code, assuming good intent, asking for clarification, disagreeing with reasons, resolving every comment explicitly, learning from patterns across reviews, and when to escalate a stuck disagreement.

7

On the other side

receiving review well
  1. Thank and read fully before replying; the first reaction is rarely the best one.
  2. Assume good intent; text reads harsher than it was meant.
  3. Ask when a comment is unclear: "Do you mean the key should be created on the client?"
  4. Disagree with reasons, once, then let the reviewer or a third person decide; do not relitigate.
  5. Resolve every comment: fixed (with the commit), won't fix (with why), or follow-up (with a ticket link).
  6. Notice patterns: if three reviewers mention the same thing, it is a habit to change (the reviews.md over-engineering note is exactly this kind of signal).

If a disagreement stalls the PR for more than a day, talk it through, and if still stuck, ask a tech lead to decide. A merged good-enough change beats a perfect one in limbo.