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    Wow, THE Uncle Bob? It's great to get your thoughts here. I agree with you on the benefits of TDD, there really is no argument to be had there. The question is about the investment of time and the ROI. It isn't silly for me to consider these things. Imagine a project will take me 50% more time to finish with TDD than without, and the fairy tells me it will only save me 10% time over manual testing in the lifetime of the project. That might seem like a fantasy, but I see it as entirely plausible with certain projects. Commented Apr 9, 2011 at 1:34
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    @Ken "Imagine a project will take me 50% more time to finish with TDD than without". That sounds EXACTLY like fantasy to me. In fact, it sounds like you just made that figure up on the spot without a shred of evidence to support it. Commented Apr 29, 2011 at 5:11
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    @Rein Henrichs - Of course I made the number up, it was a hypothetical statement. I'm making the point that TDD adds a significant amount of time to a project, and I have to consider whether I'm going to get something of equal or better value in return. You don't have to convince me on the values of TDD, I'm convinced. But it is not a panacea. Commented Apr 29, 2011 at 16:09
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    @Rein, what exactly is the "available evidence?" Please elaborate. Commented May 23, 2011 at 22:15
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    @Uncle Bob "Replace the eyeblink with a few seconds": You are joking, of course. TDD is a good tool, but you have to test only the relevant parts otherwise you spend more time maintaining tests than doing any serious development. This is especially true when requirements are changing very quickly: you are constantly writing and throwing away tests for classes that change all the time. I am not saying TDD is bad, it must just be used sensibly and not applied mechanically as you seem to suggest. Commented Oct 10, 2013 at 20:37