Testdriven utveckling (TDD) – En metod för att minska underhållskostnader i mjukvaruprojekt?

Sammanfattning: The maintenance phase within software projects is typically very expensive in terms of resources. The activities of this phase are largely focused around some form of modification of program code. This leads one to consider if there are alternative methods of code production that results in code that allows for less costly modifications. This thesis has its basis in a subset of those concepts which research has shown to provide more flexible code. Once this subset is established, connections are made between the concepts within the subset and claims of benefits provided by the use of Test Driven Development (TDD) methodology. A survey study is then performed to investigate these claimed benefits. The results of this survey indicate that the use of TDD may lead to improved maintainability through increased code coverage, a reduction in defects and more modular code. The study also indicates that one should use caution when drawing universal conclusions based on studies on TDD, and that more studies are needed with professional developers as subjects given the relatively varied results seen amongst studies with students as subjects.