Code less. Test more.
Elaborations
- Effect on Productivity
- Every programmer knows they should write tests for their code. Few do. The universal response to "Why not?" is "I'm in too much of a hurry." This quickly becomes a vicious cycle - the more pressure you feel, the fewer tests you write. The fewer tests you write, the less productive you are and the less stable your code becomes. The less productive and accurate you are, the more pressure you feel.
- Getting others to solve problems through tests
- The best way we have found to spread the test infection is through direct contact. The next time someone asks you for help debugging, get them to talk about the problem in terms of a fixture and expected results. Then say, "I'd like to write down what you just told me in a form we can use." Have them watch while you write one little test. Run it. Fix it. Write another. Pretty soon they will be writing their own.