TDD works for some people, not for others. The people it works for often (nearly always?) find it useful in some forms of development and less so in others.
To some degree, the second sentence may explain the first: some may be applying it where it doesn't work well for anyone.
To some degree, the second sentence may explain the first: some may be applying it where it doesn't work well for anyone.
Further, TDD works best with very highly-factored designs, which provide lots of little things that can benefit from testing, and where TDD's forces suggest ways of doing that factoring.
That synergy, or its lack, may explain why some don't find TDD useful.
That synergy, or its lack, may explain why some don't find TDD useful.
Furthermore, everyone I know who finds it useful came to that finding slowly. They practiced a lot, thoughtfully.
Possibly, probably, mindful practice makes a difference: it usually does.
This, too, may explain why some don't find TDD useful.
Possibly, probably, mindful practice makes a difference: it usually does.
This, too, may explain why some don't find TDD useful.
I've worked with TDD, and consciously studied what was happening, for over 20 years. (I did take time off to eat, sleep, and for some other behaviors.)
I could be wrong, but I'm quite sure that TDD provides me a steady pace of continuous delivery of clean features.
I could be wrong, but I'm quite sure that TDD provides me a steady pace of continuous delivery of clean features.
I could be wrong, but I'm quite sure that when I TDD, I do far less debugging than when I do not, and that debugging takes me much more time than writing code that works, which is what TDD provides for me.
Many people have that same experience: TDD discernibly helps them.
And, apparently, many other people find little or no value to TDD.
Those of us who get benefit have worked together often enough to be confident that we're doing the "same thing".
And, apparently, many other people find little or no value to TDD.
Those of us who get benefit have worked together often enough to be confident that we're doing the "same thing".
This leads me to another kind of confidence, which is that people who have found no value in TDD have actually simply found themselves in a different place.
- different kind of problem
- different style of design
- different form of study.
- different kind of problem
- different style of design
- different form of study.
It's fine to say that one has not found value in TDD, just as it is fine to say that one has. If one has not, those of us who do find value are probably quite right to suspect that, for many, they just never found the sweet spot.
That's kind of sad, but we all get to choose where we invest our time. What's more troubling to me is the notion that someone who hasn't ever found the sweet spot could sensibly assert that there isn't one, with all the folks around who have found it.
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