Test-Driven Development from a Conventional Software Testing Perspective, Part 1
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Learning About TDD
If you’re a professional software tester, or you work in quality assurance, I consider you to be (like me) a "conventional software tester." Conventional software testers are often asked for opinions and expertise on a myriad of testing-related questions. One new area of thought in software development is test-driven development (TDD). Because it contains the word test, TDD is a topic on which conventional software testers are increasingly asked to weigh in. But since TDD is a programmer-testing activity, conventional software testers often find that they’re inadequately prepared to deal with TDD.
As a curious software tester, I wanted to learn more about test-driven development first-hand. I began learning about TDD through my typical process of inquiry:
- Read literature about the subject to gain an overall understanding.
- Explore by working closely with practitioners to gain more comprehension.
- Immerse myself in the subject by learning from an expert and through practicing on my own.
- Spend time reflecting on my experiences.
This series of articles describes some highlights from this process. In this article, I share my experience learning test-driven development from an expert programmer. In part 2, I share my experience, applying what I learned by practicing test-driven development myself. In part 3, I share some of my reflective thoughts on what I learned.