Comment on Testing on High: Bottom-up versus Top-down Test-driven Development by James Herdman

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 10:44:50 -0800

Good article. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I'm wondering if sometimes the nature of the project demands a particular testing approach? Data-centric projects, and (perhaps) projects wherein one ports an application from one language to the next, seem to demand a bottom-up approach. Green-field projects are much more suitable for outside-in.

Another factor I can imagine coming into play is the nature of the development team. For instance, are the developers the UI designers, and are they comfortable and competent in this domain? If not, they'll probably opt for (or be forced to) the bottom-up approach.