Confessions of a Test Driven Developer-holic

Test Driven Development is an industry accepted best practice. It gives developers confidence in the software that they write by promising both requirement fulfilling products as well as simpler designs. Who could ever argue against it’s merits?

For years I have been an advocate of Test Driven Development - to the point, where I have been called of being a Test Driven Developer-holic. Not only did I drink the Kool-Aid, I also served it to minors.

Despite it’s merits, there is a dark underbelly to Test Driven Development. Exhausted of ignoring this underbelly, I have committed a number of sins against the Test Driven Developer community.

During this talk, I will share my confession of where almost two decades of professional software development has lead me and my current position on this topic.

Debunking the Complexity of Continuous Deployment

What do you think of when you hear Continuous Deployment? Do you think that it is great in theory but something that would never work for your team? Does your mind start to swirl with all of the reasons why your department / company would never support it? In this talk, we will explore and debunk many of the reasons why organizations feel they cannot leverage Continuous Deployment. I will also share my 3-step process for adopting Continuous Deployment in your software development projects immediately.

Continuous Deployment in Practice

In my talk last year at Beer City Code, I shared the benefits of Continuous Deployment as well as strategies on how to adopt this practice in your organization. During this year's presentation, we are going to get into the details. We are going to talk about how you need to think and behave differently than you would if you were not practicing Continuous Deployment. Using real software requirements, I will share strategies and solutions on how to implement them safely and more confidently in a Continuous Deployment environment.

Eliminate the Ego

I have really enjoyed my career in the Knowledge Industry. While it has been great, there are times when it has not been great. One of the challenges I have faced is when I present a very well thought out solution to a problem and the team chooses a different solution instead. In these situations, I have experienced a wide range of emotions from apathy to rage. Why? I have found that this is primarily due to ego. During this talk, I will share some strategies on how to prepare and navigate these situations without allowing ego to get in the way.

This talk was first delivered to Merge Conference 2025. The target audience are all Business Professionals working in the Knowledge Industry.