---
title: TDD doesn't mean you know everything upfront
date: 2024-01-30
permalink: archive/2024/01/30/tdd-doesnt-mean-you-know-everything-upfront
snippet: |
    Test-Driven Development doesn't mean you need to know everything upfront.
tags:
    - software-development
    - automated-testing
    - test-driven-development
---

I'm in the final phase of a Drupal development project for a customer.

It has some custom modules and code I wrote with automated tests and test-driven development.

Today, the client reported a bug.

But, instead of something working incorrectly, this was a use case I hadn't considered.

The tests were passing, but there wasn't one for this.

I wrote the code for the use cases I was aware of when I started, and now I'm aware of another, I can add a test for it and ensure it's tested and working.

To do test-driven development, you don't need to know all the use cases and functionality upfront.

Write for what you know at the time, then expand and iterate in the future.