Thread:Talk:Wikimedia engineering 20% policy/Suggested replacement: LevelUp/reply

I like this idea, of course.

Currently the most experience engineers may review the oldest and most neglected code, but there is no mechanism for their actions apply to anything more than the bugzilla patch or gerrit change itself. A lot of knowledge gets sent in a one-off.

The focus on code review should be on increasing capacity in a manner that is sustainable, not in assigning people to do something they may or may not like simply because they are the only one who knows it. Creating a system where people pay their skills forward like LevelUp is one such mechanism which can hopefully allow us to repeat and be a "force multiplier" where work done serves more than one purpose.

One consideration should be mentioned. Usually engineers find it invaluable when their code is being audited during mentorship. The reason why is they are already familiar with its ins-and-outs so the act of review gives them new things to look out for, gives them a place to hang the new found knowledge, and they adequately arguing the opposing case from the perspective of reviewee gives them the empathy to see the frustrations our community of developers has with our current process. Hopefully that will be a component as part of this process.