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Waterfall Testing vs Test Driven Development

Developers should learn Waterfall Testing when working on projects with well-defined, stable requirements and low uncertainty, such as government contracts or safety-critical systems like medical devices, where regulatory compliance and documentation are paramount meets developers should use tdd when building reliable, maintainable software, especially in agile environments or for complex systems where requirements evolve. Here's our take.

🧊Nice Pick

Waterfall Testing

Developers should learn Waterfall Testing when working on projects with well-defined, stable requirements and low uncertainty, such as government contracts or safety-critical systems like medical devices, where regulatory compliance and documentation are paramount

Waterfall Testing

Nice Pick

Developers should learn Waterfall Testing when working on projects with well-defined, stable requirements and low uncertainty, such as government contracts or safety-critical systems like medical devices, where regulatory compliance and documentation are paramount

Pros

  • +It is suitable for small to medium-sized projects with clear objectives and minimal expected changes, as it provides a structured, predictable testing process that reduces risks of scope creep and ensures comprehensive validation at each development stage
  • +Related to: waterfall-model, test-planning

Cons

  • -Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

Test Driven Development

Developers should use TDD when building reliable, maintainable software, especially in agile environments or for complex systems where requirements evolve

Pros

  • +It helps catch defects early, improves code quality through refactoring, and provides a safety net for changes, making it ideal for projects requiring high test coverage or frequent iterations, such as web applications or APIs
  • +Related to: unit-testing, automated-testing

Cons

  • -Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

The Verdict

Use Waterfall Testing if: You want it is suitable for small to medium-sized projects with clear objectives and minimal expected changes, as it provides a structured, predictable testing process that reduces risks of scope creep and ensures comprehensive validation at each development stage and can live with specific tradeoffs depend on your use case.

Use Test Driven Development if: You prioritize it helps catch defects early, improves code quality through refactoring, and provides a safety net for changes, making it ideal for projects requiring high test coverage or frequent iterations, such as web applications or apis over what Waterfall Testing offers.

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The Bottom Line
Waterfall Testing wins

Developers should learn Waterfall Testing when working on projects with well-defined, stable requirements and low uncertainty, such as government contracts or safety-critical systems like medical devices, where regulatory compliance and documentation are paramount

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