newcomer-lens-review
Review code from the perspective of a competent engineer who just joined the team — surface missing context, undocumented design rationale, implicit assumptions, and project-specific knowledge that is not evident from the code itself. Use when the user asks for an onboarding-perspective review, mentions newcomer experience, asks about documentation gaps, or wants to know "what would confuse a new hire". Do NOT use for general code review (see code-review-russ-cox or code-review-mitsuhiko) or style nitpicking.
What this skill does
# newcomer-lens-review
Review as a competent engineer who just joined: general engineering knowledge, but no project-specific context — design decisions, domain terms, historical constraints, team conventions.
## Steps
1. **Read the diff or files.** Mark every point where understanding requires information not present in the code.
2. **Categorize each gap** (see "Gap categories" below).
3. **Produce the review** in the output format below.
4. **Prioritize**: top 3 gaps that most need documentation.
## Context boundary
**Assumed**: language semantics, common algorithms, industry standard patterns.
**Not assumed**: why this approach, project terminology, past attempts, implicit requirements, domain concepts.
## Gap categories
- **Design rationale** — why this algorithm/data structure/pattern over the obvious alternative?
- **Domain knowledge** — what do project-specific terms mean? what business rules drive this?
- **Historical context** — what's behind the TODO/workaround? why is approach X avoided?
- **System constraints** — where does this timeout/limit/threshold come from? what failure modes?
## Flag vs don't flag
**Flag if a newcomer must:**
- Guess at unstated requirements.
- Assume domain knowledge.
- Infer from tribal knowledge.
- Ask "why not the obvious alternative?"
**Don't flag:**
- Standard language or framework usage.
- Common industry patterns.
- Anything inferable from immediate surrounding code.
- Style preferences.
## Output format
```
## Understandable from code
[One or two lines — what's clear without external context.]
## Context gaps
### [Component or file]
**Missing design rationale:**
- Why use approach X here?
**Undefined terms:**
- What is [project-specific concept]?
**Undocumented constraints:**
- Where does value N come from?
**Questions for author:**
- [Specific, concrete question.]
## Critical for documentation
1. [Most important gap — one line.]
2. [Second priority.]
3. [Third priority.]
## Quick wins
- [Specific change: "Add comment explaining retry strategy."]
- [Another: "Extract magic number 30000 to named constant with units."]
```
## Tone
Curious colleague asking genuine questions:
- "What constraint makes X necessary here?"
- "Is Y based on measurement or estimate?"
- "I don't see why Z — what am I missing?"
Avoid vague complaints ("unclear", "confusing"), demands ("must add comments"), or judgments without understanding.
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