In the fast-paced world of start-ups, it’s common to overlook the importance of writing unit tests*. With limited resources and short timescales, many consider it a luxury rather than a necessity (if they even consider them at all).

The long-term impact is far from marginal – if you’re lucky enough to start getting to scale, you’ll regret not investing in them early on.

However, even in the short term, writing unit tests can speed up your delivery. Here’s how 👇

🐛 Bug Reduction

Unit tests enable teams to catch bugs early, before they reach production. This not only improves user experience, but also saves time and resources in testing, debugging and hotfixes.

⚡ Quicker Changes

Good unit tests encourage modular, less complex code. This makes it easier to implement changes and add new features. Furthermore, unit-tested code acts as its own documentation, reducing the time needed to understand how the code works.

🔄 Frequent Releases

With a solid suite of tests in place, the risk associated with each release decreases. Developers and stakeholders gain confidence that the new changes haven’t broken existing functionality, enabling more frequent releases and quicker feature rollout.

👥 Fewer People (& Cost)

Unit tests reduce the number of people required overall. Less resource needed for manual testing and debugging, and a lower overall cost of change & maintenance as a result of the tests encouraging less complex code.

🌱 Why Early-Stage Start-ups Should Care

Many early-stage start-ups don’t invest in unit tests, especially when the development team is small. However, as the team grows, their absence becomes increasingly detrimental. Adding unit tests retroactively can be a herculean task, particularly if your codebase has already turned into spaghetti.

In summary, unit testing is not just a “nice-to-have”; it’s a strategic advantage. Even if you’re working with a lean team, the benefits far outweigh the initial time investment. The sooner you start, the faster you’ll go.