1742: Awkward workflow when reviewing code.

eart*****@gmai***** (Google Code) (Is this you? Claim this profile.)
March 21, 2011
What version are you running?
1.0.9

What's the URL of the page containing the problem?
It starts by clicking the link in the review request.

What steps will reproduce the problem?
1. Click the link in the review request.
2. It's completely unapparent what you're supposed to do.

What is the expected output? What do you see instead?
I usually click the "review" button. But then you're taken to an overlay that has a checkbox "ship it" and an unlabeled text area. Clicking the back button doesn't work, so you have to go back to your email and click the request link again or navigate there some other way.

Clicking the "view diff" button is actually what you want. When you do that, the diff shows up, but then there's no obvious way to approve the diff. A big "approve" or "diff" button that looks like a submit button would really help. Instead, you have to click on a little tab in the upper right that says "review."


What operating system are you using? What browser?


Please provide any additional information below.

One possible quick and dirty solution might be to go straight to the diff from the email link. Then a prominent way to approve the diff would make the whole process more obvious.
david
#1 david
Hmm. That's kind of skipping out on a lot of review board's functionality (the power is truly in inline commenting), but I can see how it might be bewildering what to do if you're a first time user. We should definitely see what we can do to make things more discoverable.
  • -Type-Defect
    +Type-Enhancement
#2 eart*****@gmai***** (Google Code) (Is this you? Claim this profile.)
The problem is that it isn't clear which button you're supposed to click at a given time. The labels don't make sense. And it isn't clear from the UI that there is a preferred workflow. 

I do like and use the inline commenting. And yes, the first time user experience is very confusing. But so is the repeat user experience.
#3 rv.****@gmai***** (Google Code) (Is this you? Claim this profile.)
As a first time user, it was a frustrating experience :).
chipx86
#4 chipx86
Maybe for a review request with no reviews, we can have a sort of tip box below telling you what to do to get started reviewing the change.
  • +Component-Reviews
    +Usability
david
#5 david
I think the one-click ship-it that's in 1.6 addresses this.
  • +Fixed