Development PracticesConference50min
The Future of Refactoring: Test-Driven Navigation
This talk introduces Test-Driven Navigation (TDN), a workflow using failing tests as precise instructions to guide AI in safe, incremental code changes. It critiques prompt-driven development, demonstrates TDN live, and shows how developers can evolve from coders to architects by combining Extreme Programming with AI-assisted refactoring.
Alex BunardzicService Points
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Friday, October 10, 11:50-12:40
Room 5
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AI promised to solve the endless chore of refactoring, but its tendency to deliver massive, uncontrolled changes often creates more problems than it solves. This talk introduces Test-Driven Navigation (TDN), a practical workflow to tame your AI assistant. By providing failing tests as hyper-specific instructions, we can force AI to work in safe, incremental steps. Learn how to combine principles from Extreme Programming (the 3 C's) with the power of modern AI to keep your code continuously working, transform your refactoring process, and elevate your role from a hands-on coder to a strategic system architect.
What You Will Learn:
The talk is targeted to advanced software professionals.
What You Will Learn:
- Why "prompt-driven development" often fails and leads to the much dreaded "Big Bang" delivery model.
- How to apply the "Permaculture by Succession" philosophy to evolve software design safely.
- A live-coded demonstration of the Test-Driven Navigation (Red-Green-Refactor) cycle with an AI partner.
- How this approach transforms code review: "writing the next test is the code review."
- The future role of the developer is not obsolete; it's being elevated from a mechanic to a race engineer, from a coder to an architect.
The talk is targeted to advanced software professionals.
Alex Bunardzic
Alex Bunardzic is a seasoned software development leader with a deep passion for craftsmanship and sustainable engineering. As Director of Development at Service Points, he has spent years in the trenches tackling one of the most persistent and costly challenges in the industry: software maintenance.
Alex is now at the forefront of exploring the emerging human-AI partnership in development. He moves beyond the hype of "vibe coding" to pioneer practical, disciplined workflows. In his work, he champions "Test-Driven Navigation (TDN)," a powerful methodology that bridges the battle-tested wisdom of Extreme Programming with the raw capability of modern AI. Alex argues that the developer's role isn't disappearing—it's being elevated. His talks provide a clear, actionable roadmap for developers to become the strategic architects of their systems, guiding AI to do the heavy lifting without sacrificing quality or control.
Alex is now at the forefront of exploring the emerging human-AI partnership in development. He moves beyond the hype of "vibe coding" to pioneer practical, disciplined workflows. In his work, he champions "Test-Driven Navigation (TDN)," a powerful methodology that bridges the battle-tested wisdom of Extreme Programming with the raw capability of modern AI. Alex argues that the developer's role isn't disappearing—it's being elevated. His talks provide a clear, actionable roadmap for developers to become the strategic architects of their systems, guiding AI to do the heavy lifting without sacrificing quality or control.
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