What are the best practices for reviewing a pull request?

One method that really helped me was utilizing the IDE's debugging features. Start by running the unit tests you've been given and set a breakpoint at the beginning of the test. Step through the code slowly to understand how it executes. This will help you validate its function and could reveal areas that lack coverage. Don't forget to run a coverage report to ensure all necessary code paths are tested, and if they’re lacking, feel free to request changes.

When you're new, it's important to remember that you might not be fully responsible for the PR review yet. However, you can still use this as a great learning opportunity! Start by checking if the code has adequate test coverage, usually with unit tests. If the changes are significant, the author should also consider functional tests. Look for any obvious problems, like leftover `console.log` statements or commented code. If something doesn't make sense, don’t hesitate to ask for clarification; you'll either learn why it was done that way, realize it’s an error that needs fixing, or find it's a temporary issue that’s on the list to be updated.

Are you referring to being new to the codebase, the team, or just new in general? Knowing this can help tailor the advice better.

Does your company have established guidelines for reviewing PRs? If not, it might be a good idea to ask your lead engineers to put something together. Clear guidelines can really help demystify the process.

Reviewing a PR is about understanding the overall impact of the code change. It could be something minor like fixing a typo or as significant as adding a new feature. Just keep that larger picture in mind as you review!