We can inspect these scenarios in the readable Gherkin language, which is structured to present such behaviors:
Each scenario needs to be unit tested.
Post-implementation Unit Testing Demo
Moreover, managers must weigh the team’s resources against the costs of implementing unit testing. Top reasons cited for opting out of unit testing include a project’s limited scope—whether due to a small team, or limited working hours when meeting a set deadline—and budget concerns.
A lighter post-production workload results in lowered project costs and faster project completion. Managers can forecast and budget for curtailed QA team contract periods, scheduling upcoming or dependent projects to begin earlier, and developers can start working on new apps even sooner.
Let’s imagine we have an application in which we want to present three text files whose headings should display in blue font color. We begin by writing the entire program for our feature, loading the files, and showing our headings, employing the best practices and separation of concerns discussed earlier. We then test and update our code as necessary.
Only the interface of a unit should be tested: Internal states and properties intended to be read and/or written by other units should be excluded. Thus, if a unit is responsible for a multiplication function, we could write a test that ensures that multiplication is correctly performed (e.g., 5x7=35), but we would not investigate how the multiplication actually happens (e.g., 5x7 vs. 7x5 vs. 7+7+7+7+7, etc.).
Say we’ve previously tested and implemented a global search-by-name feature, and would now like to give the end user the ability to filter the search results.
We have seen various unit testing approaches, but what does it mean to ready our project for clean, differentiated unit testing in practice? To start an example testing implementation, we must first provide for a separation of concerns in which each unit supports a single objective and each function fulfills a single task.
Architect
- Add or swap features in a reasonable time.
- A direct result of effectively implementing a separation of concerns
| Now that our code is implemented, we define test cases to check the feature in its entirety: - Do the files load?
- Does the file text display?
- Is the font color of our headings blue?
Regardless of a team’s organization and communication style, reading unit tests enables developers to glean information that may otherwise be insufficiently documented, or buried under mountains of notes.Natural SMART GoalsOnce we have finished this process, our TDD approach is completed.An Ounce of PreventionEngineer | - Add engineers to deliver solutions more quickly.
- A direct effect of more purposeful, organized, and readable code
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| Step 6. Correct code as necessary. We have demonstrated that unit testing your project will more than pay for itself in financial savings, bug prevention, and the peace of mind it affords you. Think of unit testing as an insurance policy to safeguard your project. Often, it is a person’s risk tolerance that dictates how much insurance to buy or or how extensive a unit testing plan to implement. At one end of the spectrum are those who would spend more to get more, their goal being maximal coverage for the sake of averting or preventing disaster. At the other end are those who would take their chances. Perhaps they are financially or otherwise resilient and well positioned to rebound from a loss, should one occur. The vast majority of people fall somewhere in between the two mindsets. Benjamin Franklin’s cautionary saying—“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”—still holds true today. Like an insurance policy, unit testing is a worthwhile investment. We test for the assurance of knowing we have averted or prevented the potential disasters, and that is priceless. Picking up with our previous global search-by-name example, let’s say the feature works perfectly, but is as slow as molasses. To remedy the speed issue, we implement a potential fix (e.g., we replace the algorithm) and retest. Once again, we can be confident we have not “broken” our feature that has previously tested perfectly. The feature should still pass its unit tests post-refactor. Unit Testing StrategiesReviewing unit tests can help bring new developers up to speed on an application. When a project is segmented or apportioned to siloed teams, a review of unit tests goes a long way toward filling knowledge gaps and providing insights into the application as a whole. We can expect that some tests could fail, since they were not developed concurrently with their corresponding features. If testing reveals any issues (e.g., if the headings don’t display in a blue font), we need to tweak the code and retest. TDD DemoStep 3. Write, run, and validate tests. When it comes to testing, there is no universal standard. In fact, there is much discussion among experts on how much unit testing is necessary in order for a project to be successful. There are trade-offs between time invested and code quality. After the scope of unit testing is decided, the project manager must choose from among multiple unit testing strategies. Unit Testing ScopeFeature: Load and display text from the files and display all headings in blue font color Scenario: User loads file successfully Given user navigates to the platform And user navigates to the Import File page When user selects the file and chooses Import Then file is imported successfully Scenario: File is loaded and text displays successfully Given user navigates to the platform And user navigates to the Import File page When user selects the file and chooses Import Then file is imported And file text displays in its entirety Scenario: File is loaded and text displays successfully and all headings display in blue font color Given user navigates to the platform And user navigates to the Import File page When user selects the file and chooses Import Then file text displays in its entirety And all headings display in blue font color
Unit testing is the process of running focused tests over small chunks (units) of code to check whether code behaves as intended during the course of an app’s development. Preemptively identifying glitches through unit testing reduces debugging time and saves money. Reduced Post-production CostsStep 5. Rerun tests. Step 4. Write, run, and validate tests. Team | - Split teams into smaller divisions to deliver solutions more quickly.
- A direct consequence of modular code
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How do you really feel about unit testing? Does it make sense to shift focus away from development in order to dedicate the team’s efforts to improving the codebase? Developers don’t always relish the tedious cycles of evaluating code, mocking data, defining test group(s) and their function signature(s), writing tests, and then going back to tweak existing code. In our post-implementation testing approach, we proceed as follows: - Implement the code for all three scenarios.
- Write the tests for these scenarios.
- Run the tests.
Once a plan’s scope is decided, we’ll want to consider and adopt a strategy that works for our project. Unit Testing ApproachesThe third pattern, referred to as targeted unit testing, is often most practical, given project constraints. In this case, we cherry-pick the code to test, focusing on parts that are most critical to a project’s success. Unit testing a feature helps us to confirm that it works as expected—even if we refactor code logic, or update third-party libraries, for example. Step 6. Approve feature after all tests are successful. | But adding unit tests can be as seamless and practical as checking whether the milk is fresh before you pour it in your coffee. In the long run, unit testing undeniably enhances a project’s development experience and reduces costs, as we will see in our exploration of unit testing’s advantages and the prevailing strategies for its implementation. How Unit Testing Benefits Your ProjectsStep 7. Approve feature after all tests are successful. |
Meeting SMART goals serves a project by making the team’s progress more transparent to leadership and stakeholders. Developers are impelled to plan ahead and code in an organized manner. Each unit of code is assigned a single function, and tested to ensure that the unit performs as intended. The code boasts a separation of concerns:
By thoughtfully incorporating unit testing into the development process, you increase your application’s quality. The app is delivered with fewer bugs and malfunctions for QA engineers to document, or for developers to modify.
The idea of post-implementation testing can appeal to managers who tend to prioritize development in the race to submit deliverables to stakeholders. Post-implementation testing, therefore, is a far more common practice than TDD, which, in comparison, starts off slowly and requires discipline and patience throughout the project’s duration.
