This post originated from an RSS feed registered with .NET Buzz by Jeff Key. Original Post: XP results in fewer defects Feed Title: Jeff Key Feed URL: http://www.asp.net/err404.htm?aspxerrorpath=/jkey/Rss.aspx Feed Description: Topics revolve around .NET and the Windows platform. Latest .NET Buzz Posts Latest .NET Buzz Posts by Jeff Key Latest Posts From Jeff Key

Fowler discusses his experience with very few defects on projects utilizing extreme programming.  This shouldn't surprise anyone doing test driven development, as the benefits are obvious from day one, especially when starting with a clean slate. 

I've been doing TDD for a while on things I've worked on myself, particularly libraries, but only recently have I been involved in a project where the entire thing is being done in a test-first manner.  The results are phenomenal and productivity is definitely improved.  TDD can be a tough sell since writing the testing code can eat up a good chunk of development time, particularly early in the development lifecycle when people want to see results, but the time is easily recouped as the project progresses and bugs that would otherwise go unnoticed cause tests to fail, resulting in a quick resolution. 

I've always said that .NET made programming fun again and with things like patterns, TDD, refactoring and the like it just keeps getting better.  Happiness!