> But fundamentally no one should ever be trying to merge code that hasn’t been unit tested. If they are, that is a huge problem because it shows arrogance, ignorance, willingness to kick-the-can-down-the-road, etc.
Here you are asserting that unit testing is fundamental, and that not believing this is arrogance and ignorance.
I'd suggest your view that your way is "the" way, is an ironic display of arrogance, and perhaps ignorance.
And this perhaps I think is the core of much of the anti-TDD sentiment. It's not that we don't think TDD and unit tests are without their positives, it's that we don't like being told this is the one true way to write software, and if we don't do it your way we are engaging in poor engineering.
I work somewhere going through a similar process for much the same reason.
And to be frank, I'm wondering if how it ends is in me looking for a new job.
I know there's good reasons for the business to go through this process, and maybe it is really important for the business future but as an individual it sucks, my main motivator of achieving good outcomes for users, has been derailed by a large amount of procedure instigated under the belief that some auditor I've never met will be impressed.
Now with all this new procedure piled on, all of which is very new and thus immature and untried, I feel my energy to innovate, build new things and just generally drive change sapping away.
So the cost of your company isn't just the direct hours and the auditors fees! There's also a harder to quantify cost, as everything and everyone bends to change every team to work in the way some external entity thinks it should. This loss of autonomy and the loss of spirit is I think potentially far far more expensive than the direct costs.
Of course, maybe we're just going about the whole process poorly. I like to think if you were to do it well maybe it's not so bad. But, to do that I think you'd need abnormally talented staff involved, who are well versed in the topic, enthusiastic and empathetic. Most people involved in these sorts of processes in my experience aren't like that, and I can't say I blame them.
Here you are asserting that unit testing is fundamental, and that not believing this is arrogance and ignorance.
I'd suggest your view that your way is "the" way, is an ironic display of arrogance, and perhaps ignorance.
And this perhaps I think is the core of much of the anti-TDD sentiment. It's not that we don't think TDD and unit tests are without their positives, it's that we don't like being told this is the one true way to write software, and if we don't do it your way we are engaging in poor engineering.