NYCPHP Meetup

[Leam Hall]

Well, let's hope you don't have any heart attacks soon! however, I do 
wonder how you *real* developers get specs and requirements? Are they 
that loose until you build and the client says "that's not what I wanted"?

Is there room or time for better requirements gathering up front so you 
save time down the road? That seems to be part of the TDD process; your 
requirements specify the tests. Or do I not get it?

Leam


Mitch Pirtle wrote:
> I think the biggest pain most of us face is that web development is
> always of the oh-my-god-we-are-all-going-to-die-if-we-dont-launch-freaking-TOMORROW
> variety of projects. If a client ever came to me and said "You know
> Mitch, take your time on this one, I'd really like to see it done
> right" I would die of a heart attack right on the spot. That or
> immediately search for the hidden cameras, fully expecting to be on
> Punked or something like that.
> 
> Regardless, one thing I've been into for a while is test driven
> development, which although does slow down the development process
> somewhat, also accelerates the test and debugging process:
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Test-driven_development
> 
> It *is* possible to incorporate some sort of testing into the
> development cycle, which is required when you start working on bigger,
> more complex systems. Plus taking the TDD approach really forces you
> (and your client) to fully understand just what it is that you need to
> code, before you start coding. Project killing things like scope creep
> then becomes a conscious act instead of a forced, constant and
> unavoidable burden.
> 
> -- Mitch