test-driven-development

The red-green-refactor cycle in test-driven development means writing a failing test, implementing just enough code to pass it, and then refactoring for clarity. This enforces test-first development to prevent regressions and guide clean design.

To start writing tests before implementation, you describe the feature, write a failing test first, and then implement just enough code to pass. This test-first workflow keeps tests in sync with requirements and prevents overfitting.

Yes, you can apply test-driven development to refactors and bug fixes across codebases of varying sizes. It guides teams to write failing tests before code and maintain green tests throughout the refactoring process.

Behavior-driven discipline matters in software testing because it keeps tests in sync with requirements and prevents overfitting. This ensures clear, minimal tests fail first and validate actual behavior rather than implementation details.

You should never write production code without a failing test when following this development workflow. It strictly enforces writing failing tests before code to prevent regressions and ensure every feature has clear requirements.