TDD: Why I'm writing on Substack
I want to help hundreds of developers across the world to adopt TDD. This is the first time I'm revealing my whole TDD transformation process to you. This is NOT a book. This is NOT course. It's more.
On LinkedIn, I often get messages like this:
“Can you mentor me in TDD?“
“Are you writing a book about TDD?“
“Do you have a course about TDD?“
I also get messages like this:
“I’ve read books about TDD, and watched some courses, attended some trainings, but the demos shown were very simple. I don’t know how to apply TDD in my real project at work.“
I want to help developers across the world
The university education system doesn’t tackle TDD & Automated Testing
Most courses and trainings are about Java, .NET, etc… but not about quality!
Developers are already burnt out and don’t have time to read 200-page books
My career progression (in short): Senior Developer → Tech Lead → Software Architect → Technical Coach.
I worked with teams (architects, tech leads, and developers) across the world, across many industries. They had completely different codebases, but faced similar challenges, and I discovered a common solution that works.
I want to share the TDD transformation process with you - through the TDD in Legacy Code series.
What’s my writing process on Substack
I write articles as step-by-step guides - a synthesis of what I learnt and applied during Technical Coaching.
I outline the steps and provide pseudocode examples to illustrate key points, so that this process can be applied in any tech stack.
Each article has practical steps that you can apply to your GitHub project and send me a link to review. Developers often write comments and ask questions. Based on their feedback I may update the articles.
This is more than book
A typical book has a fixed scope, the author spends 2-3 years writing, and then publishes it.
The TDD in Legacy Code series is different - it’s not a book. As I write it week-by-week, I’m influenced by the questions and comments I get on my articles. I update the articles based on the feedback I receive from you.
This is more than a course
A standard course also has a fixed scope and a strong focus on the tactical aspects. It’s hands-on and shows you how to do something, for a specific language / tech stack.
The TDD in Legacy Code series is different - it’s not a course. I show you the overall process in a tech-agnostic manner as much as possible, with some pseudocode, so that you can apply it in whatever language you’re using at work. So when my readers share their GitHub projects for me to review, they’re in various languages!
Working together = success!
What you’ll get out of this: Most likely you’re a Senior Developer, you’re already highly experienced, but your company didn’t provide you with practical TDD training. Here, you get to practice TDD in your sandbox project (which I review), before you apply it to your real life project.
What I get out of this: Your comments & GitHub projects are help me write pragmatic step-by-step guides that can be applied to any tech stack.
We’ve had a big growth since launch
I launched the TDD in Legacy Code transformation on 26th Sep 2024, just over a month ago. It’s been very motivating for me to see how many people subscribed. This means a lot to me, and I can invest more and more effort into helping you succeed in applying TDD.
Who’s subscribing to the paid version?
My paid subscribers tend to have the following roles in their companies:
Senior Software Engineers
Team Leads / Tech Leads / Principal Engineers
Software Architects / Solution Architects
CTOs / Engineering Directors / Engineering Managers
Technical Agile Coaches / Trainers / Consultants
Some of my paid subscribers are employed at large companies, some are working independently, there’s quite a mix.
Where are my premium subscribers located?
My paid subscribers live across the world.
Some countries where I have quite a number of premium subscribers from include:
France
Germany
United Kingdom
United States
Spain
Brazil
… and many others!
What do my premium subscribers get?
What do my paid subscribers get from the TDD in Legacy Code series:
Senior Software Engineers, Tech Leads & Architects:
Get step-by-step guides to apply TDD in Legacy Code
Create GitHub Sandbox Projects and get my feedback
Get my support when they try to apply it in their Real Life Projects.
Some are covering the costs themselves, others are expensing it through their company’s Learning & Development budget.
CTOs, Engineering Directors & Engineering Managers
Get an overview of the TDD transformation roadmap
Opportunity to buy Group Subscriptions for their Senior Engineers & Tech Leads
Free consultation with me on how to help their teams adopt TDD
Technical Coaches, Trainers & Consultants
Keep up-to-date with technical best practices
Opportunity to exchange different perspectives with me
Discuss how to handle challenges in TDD transformations for teams
My dream is to bring TDD & Automated Testing to the masses and help change the software industry.
That’s why I’m writing the TDD in Legacy Code series on Substack.
It’s a dream come true!
🎉🎉Thank you to everyone for being part of this journey. 🎉🎉
I love your practical guides on TDD, which can be applied for any tech stack.