A recent TDD for Embedded C attendee asks me “TDD does not help reduce the time I spend in the lab during system integration testing”
(This is asked in the context of embedded development. But the answer is half applicable to any development where there is integration.)
TDD should definitely help reduce the time you spend in integration. How does it do that? It helps you eliminate the non-integration problems before you get to the integration lab. An honest appraisal of what you do in integration may reveal that during integration you are finding problems you could have discovered before integration. It would help reduced integration time if you find fewer problems during integration. Don’t you think?
This cause/effect diagram helps to visualize the relationship of TDD to time spend in integration.