TDD = too dumb developers? Implications of Test-Driven Development on maintainability and comprehension of software

Abstract

Test-Driven Development (TDD) is a development discipline prescribing writing tests beforehand writing the implementation code, which then shall pass the tests. Several criticisms addressed TDD's capability of delivering well-structured code, mainly because of the short focus on the features needed right now without much looking forward. So the main threat possibly introduced by TDD lies in the lack of maintainability and evolvability of the resulting system. The goal of the working session is to gather opinions, studies, and mostly experiences related to the maintenance implications of TDD adoption. The working session will be organized around position papers presented and discussed by the participants.