test-driven-development

Test-driven development discipline is enforced by guiding the development cycle through Red-Green-Refactor stages, ensuring production code is written only to satisfy a failing test. This guarantees every feature is backed by a test that proves its necessity.

The Red-Green-Refactor cycle is a test-driven development process where you first write a failing test, then write the minimum production code to make it pass, and finally refactor the code. It ensures all logic is verified by tests before implementation.

Avoiding testing anti-patterns like mocking behavior requires strict guardrails during the test-driven development lifecycle. This prevents mistakes like adding test-only methods to production code and ensures tests validate actual behavior rather than mocked logic.

Yes, you can apply TDD principles to bug fixes and refactoring tasks where code reliability and regression prevention are critical. The Red-Green-Refactor cycle ensures that fixes and refactored code are fully verified by failing tests before implementation.

You should reconsider test-driven development when strict adherence to the Red-Green-Refactor cycle is impractical for your task. If avoiding testing anti-patterns or writing failing tests before implementation conflicts with your project constraints, alternative quality assurance approaches may be needed.