Justifying TDD: A Conversation with Scott Bain

Justifying TDD: A Conversation with Scott Bain Scott Bain and Jim Trott talk about overcoming the challenges people often have to adopting Test-Driven Development in their organization. A big part of doing TDD effectively is coming to an agreement as to what it is, why we want to do it, and how to do it. We cover quesions such as: The return on the investment in TDD... for everyone Developers already have a full-time job.  Why should we give them another one? Won’t TDD slow down the development process? If the developers write tests, won’t they simply be doing the same work as testers, and if so isn’t this wasteful? How does TDD help distributed teams? As the test suite grows in size, won’t this become a massive burden? What are situations where TDD does not work?   In addition, Scott points us to helpful resources such as his excellent website, www.sustainabletdd.com. This show is part of an ongoing series of conversations with Net Objectives consultants and thought-leaders on a variety of topics. We call this series, "The Doctor Is In!" Recommendations - Reading and Sites You can use the forums on the Net Objectives Portal to ask questions about the webinar.  Note, you will have to register on the portal to do so. www.SustainableTDD.com Net Objectives TDD page Music used in this podcast: “And So It Begins” and “Easy Lemon” by Kevin MacLeod © Incompetech Inc. Blog Type: Podcast   Transcript Introduction In this show, Scott Bain and I talk about overcoming the challenges people often have to adopting test driven development in their organization. A big part of doing TDD effectively, is coming to an agreement as to what it is, why we want to do it, and how to do it. View Full Transcript Jim Trott:  It's August 8th, 2016. This show, "A Conversation on Justifying TDD with Scott Bain." [background music] Jim:  Hello. Welcome to another addition of "Lean‑Agile Straight Talk," a regular podcast series from Net Objectives. I'm your host, Jim Trott. In this show, Scott Bain and I talk about overcoming the challenges people often have to adopting test‑driven development in their organization. A big part of doing TDD effectively, is coming to an agreement as to what it is, why we want to do it, and how to do it. We're going to cover questions such as, what's the return on investment in TDD? Why should we be giving developers yet another job to do? Does TDD slow down the development process? Are we really making developers do the same kind of work that testers are doing, and isn't that wasteful? Does TDD apply in distributed team environments? What do you do as the test size grows in size? Doesn't that become a massive burden? What situations are there where TDD just doesn't work, and what are resources for learning more about TDD? The hint is, go to Scott's website, sustainabletdd.com. I'm sure if you've been thinking about TDD, some of these questions have occurred to you. I think you're going to enjoy this show. Before we get started, I want to remind you that you can explore more about this topic by jumping over to the resources section of www.netobjectives.com. At Net Objectives, we're committed to discovering effective software development methods so that we can assist organizations in becoming more successful. We combine our experience to continuously extend the capability of what is possible in creating effective software development organizations. We provide these approaches to our clients, and the community in general, so that we can assist people in achieving their goals and making their organizations more successful. We'd welcome the chance to work with you, and we're always learning. We invite you to join in. Visit us at www.netobjectives.com, and let's keep the conversation going. Scott is one of my favorite presenters. He's a gifted trainer. He's an author of several books, including "Emergent Design ‑ The Evolutionary Nature of Professional Software Development" and of "Essential Skills for the Agile Developer". Sco