Chapter 9. Integrating unit testing into the organization
This chapter covers
- Becoming an agent of change
- Implementing change from the top down or from the bottom up
- Preparing to answer the tough questions about unit testing
As a consultant, I’ve helped several companies, big and small, integrate test-driven development and unit testing into their organizational culture. Sometimes this has failed, but those companies that succeeded had several things in common. This chapter draws on stories from both camps as it looks at the following topics:
- Becoming the agent of change —The initial steps you should take before introducing any changes
- Ways to succeed —Things that contribute to successful changes in a process
- Ways to fail —Things that can destroy what you’re trying to do
- Tough questions and answers —The most frequently asked questions encountered when introducing unit testing to a team
In any type of organization, changing people’s habits is more psychological than technical. People don’t like change, and change is usually accompanied with plenty of FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) to go around. It won’t be a walk in the park for most people, as you’ll see in this chapter.