I recently opened a pull request on a new project and, along with the usual details, included a short demo screencast. I do these often because they’re low-effort but high-impact.
The code in the PR might be clean. The tests might be thorough. But nothing proves your code works better than running through it like a real customer would. Here's the blank state, here's the error state, here's the working state.
As I record these short screencasts, I often spot issues, or I get a flurry of ideas worth capturing for future cycles, and the feature usually ends up better just from going through the recording process. Sometimes things pass unnoticed during development and only show up when you step back and watch it play out.
Most web developers are already clicking around constantly, refreshing the browser to test what they're building. But just working is the baseline. How does it feel? Can you explain it? Did you need five clicks when three would've done?
I think reviewers appreciate the video too. It shows care. It can save them from pulling the branch just to see it in action. When a PR has beautiful code, solid tests, and a short demo, it's a pleasure to review. Next time you open a PR, try narrating a 60-second walkthrough. You might be surprised what you catch, or how much smoother the review goes.
The code in the PR might be clean. The tests might be thorough. But nothing proves your code works better than running through it like a real customer would. Here's the blank state, here's the error state, here's the working state.
As I record these short screencasts, I often spot issues, or I get a flurry of ideas worth capturing for future cycles, and the feature usually ends up better just from going through the recording process. Sometimes things pass unnoticed during development and only show up when you step back and watch it play out.
Most web developers are already clicking around constantly, refreshing the browser to test what they're building. But just working is the baseline. How does it feel? Can you explain it? Did you need five clicks when three would've done?
I think reviewers appreciate the video too. It shows care. It can save them from pulling the branch just to see it in action. When a PR has beautiful code, solid tests, and a short demo, it's a pleasure to review. Next time you open a PR, try narrating a 60-second walkthrough. You might be surprised what you catch, or how much smoother the review goes.