SAFe 4.5 Reference Guide: Scaled Agile Framework for Lean Enterprises, Second edition

Test-First

We never have enough time for testing, so let’s just write the test first.

—Kent Beck

Test-First is a Built-In Quality practice derived from Extreme Programming (XP) that recommends building tests before writing code to improve delivery by focusing on the intended results.

Agile testing differs from the big-bang, deferred testing approach of traditional development. Instead, the code is developed and tested in small increments, often with the development of the test done ahead of writing the code. This way, tests help elaborate and better define the intended system behavior even before the system is coded. Quality is built in from the ...