Exploring Extreme Programming
Conversations about user stories focus on the behavior of a system, without regard for time, memory, etc. Other times, we have real-world constraints – quality attributes – that may not fit comfortably as stories: performance, memory, extensibility, etc. Behaviors are Continue reading User Stories and Quality Attributes
Automated refactoring tools are great, but sometimes the tool doesn’t make the best choice. We can often nudge the tool to a better choice. Why Bother? Why bother nudging? Couldn’t you do the refactoring manually just as quickly? You could Continue reading Refactoring: Forcing the Right Extract Method
Nested structures are challenging to read; a pipeline is usually easier to read and think about. Nested structures have that “arrow of doom” feeling, where you work your way in multiple levels then out. It’s hard to tell what’s being Continue reading Nested Loops to Functional Pipeline
Sometimes you want to change from using a basic type (such as Int or String) to a type that contains the basic type as a value. (See Refactoring in the References.) The change itself isn’t hard, but then you have Continue reading Wrapping a Type, All the Way
I developed the INVEST model years ago to help someone (and then many people) think about the user stories they were creating. Is INVEST all you need to create good stories? Unfortunately, no. INVEST Briefly, INVEST (see References) is an Continue reading All You Need is INVEST? No!
Environments vary substantially between computers, so you’ll often see environment-specific code hidden in the PEEKs and POKEs of old BASIC programs. We’ll take a brief tour of the Ohio Scientific and Commodore 64, two computers from the late 1970s to Continue reading Ohio Scientific and Commodore 64 Environments
When we’re creating or extending systems, there’s often one type of user that’s our main focus. We often have no trouble thinking up capabilities they need. But other types of users are often forgotten. We need to enlarge our view, Continue reading Forgotten Stories
When we create test data in TDD, we do it to drive out new capabilities. But all test data is not of the same value. If your data has the wrong symmetry, it can mislead you about what’s working. Object Continue reading Avoid Irrelevant Symmetry!
When working with objects, there are different ways you can make them interact. We’ll take a quick look at a variety of connections, what’s needed to test them, and some alternatives you might consider. The connections below are in generally Continue reading Testing Objects and Relationships
Some refactorings (e.g., Extract Method or Extract Class) introduce new elements. Should you revise the tests to take these into account? The classic consultant’s answer applies: It depends. The obvious next question is “Depends on what?”, and we’ll explore some Continue reading Revise Tests While Refactoring? It Depends