Starting TDD (Part 5)

With some luck, one day, the place you are working in will decide it want to fully adopt TDD. On that day you might find yourself in the following scenario:

A lone developer in charge of implementing TDD

The team/ manager have considered TDD, they chose to evaluate it and decided that its a good idea. the decision as made and in fact most of the team is quite happy with the change. However, since its a busy time they want to approach the subject with some care and have chosen you to start the ball rolling. that is you are expected to lead the transition for your team first by doing it yourself and then by helping the rest adopt the methodology.

The steps in this scenario are very similar to the one described in Part 4 the focus however is to gather as much real hands experience the fastest way possible.

Sometime this kind of experience can be bought. If possible, bring in an outside consultant that will help you in the transition. If not, try to to make sure the next hire has hands on experience.

if this options are not present, arrange for the whole team to attend some relevant gathering/conventions. Go with the team to TDD courses. and in any-case, when following the steps described in part 4 make sure to share and include other team members in the process. And last practice a lot of pair programming TDD session.

remember the idea is to share and include the rest of the teams even if they are not actively practicing TDD yet. A successful TDD adoption is much a matter of mode and spirit, not only a technical problem.

But always remember, The key factor is to gather as much hands on experience as possible and having the patience to build upon such expereince.

Posted in: Agile practices,Development Practices,TDD