I recently faced the daunting task of reviewing a pull request for a codebase I was completely unfamiliar with. It was overwhelming, akin to being thrown into a movie halfway through and expected to provide a review on the plot. The code was complex, full of interdependencies I wasn't aware of, and the outdated documentation didn't help at all. To top it off, the pull request was nearly a thousand lines long and spanned multiple services, which left me feeling completely drained after two hours of trying to process it. When I received a Slack message urging me to approve it by the end of the day, I felt stuck. I knew that if I faked my confidence and approved it, I could easily miss something critical, yet pushing back would get blamed for delaying the process. Is this just a common issue within software delivery that everyone's facing, or does anyone actually have effective strategies to handle such overwhelming tasks?
5 Answers
You shouldn't have to approve a PR you don't understand at all! A thousand lines in an unfamiliar codebase is way too much to process in one go. If they’re rushing you and labeling you as a blocker, that’s on them—let them sort it out or merge without your approval, then they'll deal with the consequences.
A pull request that big signals some serious issues with how work is being done. Instead of just rushing through the review, push back and highlight that such large PRs aren't a best practice. Encourage breaking it into smaller, manageable tasks to help everyone in the future.
It sounds tough! When new in a system, I usually set up a time to chat with the developer who submitted the PR. Getting a walkthrough can make things clearer and allows you to ask questions in real-time, which really helps to get acquainted with the changes.
I feel you! When I get massive requests like that, I just say I can’t do it effectively. It’s not fair to expect anyone to review a thousand lines without context. Recommend they split it into smaller MRs—it's not just a no-brainer; it's necessary for good practice!
Totally! If they insist on a fast review, ask for sign-off on the risks involved and possibly deal with it later, once someone with more context can take a proper look.
If this PR is massive, definitely provide your feedback and mention that it feels too big to review effectively. Suggest breaking it down into smaller pieces if possible. Make it clear what parts of the code you lack context on, and focus on what you can—like logic and readability. Your review shouldn’t rate it as a whole if you don't understand everything.
Exactly! Just make sure you leave comments about size and clarity—your goal should be to help them improve the review process without blocking it entirely.
Right, and you should let someone more familiar with that part of the code do a thorough review when they can.
But sometimes things get urgent, and you just have to be honest about your limits. You could ask the requester some questions to clarify what you do understand, leaving the final call up to them if it's ready to merge.