Review capacity
Also known as Code review capacity, Reviewer capacity
Definition
Review capacity is the effective ability of reviewers to assess eligible changes during a period. It depends on change scope, reviewer context, specialist requirements, interruptions, and the standard of review expected.
Review is a constrained capability
Review capacity is not a simple count of reviewers. A reviewer may handle a small configuration change quickly but need substantial context for a security-sensitive migration. Effective capacity also includes time for discussion, follow-up, and maintaining the review standard.
A concrete example
An illustrative team receives ten small changes and two architecture changes in a week. Five reviewers may have enough capacity for the small changes but not for the specialist decisions. The queue reveals a capability constraint, not necessarily a shortage of people overall.
Protect quality while improving flow
Inspect queue age, change size, reviewer load, rounds, and rework. Clarify ownership, spread domain knowledge safely, reduce avoidable batch size, or schedule specialist review. Avoid rewarding fast approvals that increase escaped defects.
Limitations
Review activity timestamps cannot show whether feedback was thoughtful. Capacity varies with interruptions and risk. Do not turn review capacity into a per-person quota.
How this relates to Weave
Weave can help teams examine review timing, change scope, and queue patterns that inform a review-capacity discussion. It cannot measure the quality of a review from activity alone, so use it with reviewer judgment and defect outcomes.
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