TDD Developer Hiring Guide

Test-driven development (TDD) dates back several decades, although it gained particular attention in the Agile era. Relying on test cases to build quality software during the development process, TDD aims to simplify efforts. It also brings greater reliability to the entire software development life cycle (SDLC).

A popular style of development today, TDD combines programming and testing, accounting for various scenarios in advance. Through repeated testing, developers can ensure they are meeting project requirements.

Are you thinking about implementing TDD in your organization? Do you already have the methodology implemented and want to support and further develop the process? Software developers familiar with the methodology will help you achieve your goals as a company. Here's what you should look for in a qualified professional.

What is TDD?

TDD is a programming methodology that prioritizes testing activities to facilitate a stronger development process, effectively exposing bugs and defects early with the goal of making software development more efficient. Developers create the simplest tests possible, repeating the process to address different aspects of the program. The TDD process is essentially the flip side of the more traditional SDLC, in which developers code first and test later. In this case, testing occurs first. Developers continue to write failing tests and improve the code until it passes.

What are the benefits of TDD

The TDD process offers numerous benefits to the development process. Some of them are:

• Fewer defects overall
• Greater ability to address and understand requirements
• A more simplified and efficient development process
• Greater test coverage
• More productivity
• Higher quality code
• Cleaner code
• Integrated documentation
• Early detection of bugs and defects
• Easier software maintenance
• A more cohesive process
• Better collaboration and teamwork
• Faster results
• Less risks
• A better overall process for developers

TDD versus BDD

Behavior-driven development (BDD), it seems, focuses on software behavior. It was created to provide an extension – and, in some ways, an alternative – to TDD. While TDD is the process of testing individual components of a program by constructing unique test cases, BDD starts with how the software should behave. A key difference is that TDD revolves around the tester's or developer's perspective, while BDD is more focused on the end user's perspective and expectations of the product. There are advantages and disadvantages to each approach, of course. One benefit of BDD is that it is a more accessible approach for non-technical teams working with development teams.

Interview Questions

What are the steps involved in TDD?

In simple terms, the TDD process involves:

• Processing and understanding the appeal or correction of the request
• Writing a test
• Running the test
• If the test doesn't pass, write code to make it pass
• Refactoring to clean up the code
• Repeating the process again

What are some common mistakes when employing TDD?

Understanding the common mistakes people make when using a TDD approach can help prevent them from interfering with your project. They include:

• Starting many tests simultaneously
• Running tests infrequently
• Failing to gain widespread buy-in from a team
• Failed to use a mock framework
• Writing very complicated or large tests
• Testing excessively or unnecessarily
• Refactor infrequently
• Conducting or writing trivial tests
• Failure to conduct a quality control testing process
• Failure to properly maintain the test suite

What are the limitations of TDD?

Sometimes it can be difficult to fully implement a TDD process and approach in your organization. Testing ideation is a trap. Another is maintenance — as the project expands, it can be challenging to write and accommodate all the necessary tests. Additionally, some developers can get too caught up in the details of each test and component, rather than looking at the more complete project. Or they may ignore certain features.

How does TDD relate to Agile?

The Agile methodology relies on feedback, and with TDD, developers start the feedback cycle from the beginning of the development process. After all, testing from the beginning means you're getting real-time information. And because cycles constantly repeat, teams can use this feedback to improve the product.

TDD is often part of an agile approach. In addition to contributing feedback, both methodologies involve collaboration and communication.

What tools and frameworks are used in TDD?

There are many different types of tools and frameworks used for various aspects of TDD such as unit testing, Rest API testing, different languages, and additional project components. They include:

• csUnit
• DocTest
• JUnit
• JMeter
• Mockito
• NUunity
• PHP Unit
• Py Unit
• RSpec
• TestNG

Job description

We are looking for a highly skilled software developer with experience in test-driven development (TDD) to collaborate with other developers and QA testers and build superior software. The successful candidate will have experience working on complex projects of various sizes.

Responsibilities

• Write tests to expose bugs and defects
• Create failed test passes
• Create and run unit tests
• Structure test and development plans based on the TDD methodology
• Leverage frameworks and tools to facilitate development procedures
• Understand business goals and objectives and align TDD strategies with them
• Work with customers to collect and research requirements
• Work closely with team members to conduct testing and development

Skills and qualifications

• Exemplary technical skills
• Strong testing skills
• Ability to write effective code for various types of tests
• Knowledge of tools and frameworks used in TDD
• Written and verbal communication skills
• Collaboration and teamwork skills
• Ability to communicate technical concepts
• Bachelor's degree in computer science, software development, information technology or related field