On Sun, Feb 27, 2011 at 4:52 AM, Schwab,Wilhelm K <[hidden email]> wrote:

Hello all,

Can anyone recommend a good reference on the amount of time one should expect to spend writing tests?  I will have to be the messenger (will be wearing running shoes just in case...), but I want the message to come from a solid source.

If you develop the TDD way (which I always do at work) then I would say this question is not valid. Your production code will be there because of tests. In legacy system, new and refactored code will be there because of tests.

IMHO the questions "how much time should I spend writing tests?" or "how many tests should I write ?" are raised when tests are written after. And sadly tests often become a burden in this case and doesn't support the pressure of releases / last minute changes / ...  (I've done it this way almost 10 years ago, not good :)

In TDD the question is "which stories / scenarios do we have to implement ?". It's more a Product owner / customer point of view. 

The best book on TDD I've read is Dave Astels TDD: a practical guide (Indeed, this one has really changed my mind on how testing should be done, and other books I've read since don't).

Laurent 

 

Bill