Measuring Information Diffusion in Code Review at Spotify

TL;DR

This study aims to empirically measure how information spreads during code review processes at Spotify, testing the theory that code review acts as a communication network for information exchange.

Contribution

It proposes an observational method to quantify information diffusion in code review, providing empirical evidence for the communication network theory in software engineering.

Findings

Measurement approach based on participant, component, and team similarity

Quantitative data on information spread in code reviews

Foundation for falsifying the communication network theory

Abstract

Background: As a core practice in software engineering, the nature of code review has been frequently subject to research. Prior exploratory studies found that code review, the discussion around a code change among humans, forms a communication network that enables its participants to exchange and spread information. Although popular in software engineering, there is no confirmatory research corroborating this theory and the actual extent of information diffusion in code review is not well understood. Objective: In this registered report, we propose an observational study to measure information diffusion in code review to test the theory of code review as communication network. Method: We approximate the information diffusion in code review through the frequency and the similarity between (1) human participants, (2) affected components, and (3) involved teams of linked code reviews. The measurements approximating the information diffusion in code review serve as a foundation for falsifying the theory of code review as communication network.