How to Make Design Decisions with Confidence

As developers, every line of code we write is a crucial decision. That’s where TDD comes in handy.

It helps us validate these decisions by providing feedback. We make design decisions, and TDD enables us to get feedback. Testing confirms, but it doesn’t necessarily mean it affirms.

TDD puts evolutionary pressure on design, moving it towards change with each new feature. Testing principles provide a cost-effective and flexible way to extend a system.

When using TDD to write code, it’s crucial to reevaluate the design if there’s too much friction.

The key is understanding when each design decision is worth the effort instead of deciding whether to use TDD. Applying design ideas without considering the context can result in messy code, even if it passes tests. To ensure that the software can evolve with the business, it’s crucial to follow the rules that define it.

TDD has an advantage over other approaches because it allows us to experiment with multiple solutions for the same problem in less time.