- Posted by liammclennan on February 8, 2009
In his most recent article Paul Grapham writes that, "people can never have a fruitful argument about something that's part of their identity".
I saw this in action recently in a discussion about TDD. "I do TDD" was clearly part of one side's identity, and "I don't do TDD" was clearly part of the opposing parties identity. The problem is that each party interprets the other party's views as a personal attack. It was clear that no progress could be made because each side was defending themselves not their development choice.
We need to separate our technical choices from our identites. Do you really want TDD to be part of your identity? What if, five years from now, we discover some new great leap forward that invalidates TDD?
I say, pick your tools and techniques, defend them with logic, not dogma, and keep an open mind. Evaluate things objectively, without regard for the effect on your status quo.