8 pull request best practices for optimal engineering

Pull requests are vital to modern software development workflows, facilitating code reviews and discussions before integration into the main codebase. However, traditional pull request practices often fall short due to issues like feature creep, unintentional dependencies, knowledge silos, lack of context, and review bottlenecks, which can slow development and increase tech debt. To address these challenges, implementing best practices such as writing smaller and more focused pull requests, using PR stacking, providing ample contextual details, and encouraging real-time collaboration can enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the pull request process. Additionally, involving diverse expertise, balancing team bandwidth, and integrating automation throughout the workflow can help teams maintain high productivity and collaboration. Tools like Graphite can further streamline and automate the process, allowing developers to focus on high-value tasks and enabling teams to continuously improve their pull request practices through metrics-driven experimentation and knowledge sharing.

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