Is TDD Actually Important?

Since I started working, a common thing I have heard from agile coaches, senior developers, or consultants is the importance of practicing test-driven development (TDD). At my previous company, TDD was a far-off land. A utopia that if we just focused and adhered to its principles, we’d receive ease of development, safe refactoring, and engineering bliss to which every other XP practice paled in comparison.

I never got there.

At DICK’s Sporting Goods, the teams on which I’ve worked have practiced TDD religiously. It is no longer some fairyland, make-believe…