Ted Young didn’t just write code, he’s been rethinking how we write it for decades.

After working with the likes of Google and Apple, Ted became obsessed with making development more precise and less chaotic. Forget the “code first, test later” approach that most of us fall into. Ted's here to challenge that mindset with Test-Driven Development by breaking it down into actionable steps that save time and save you from the endless debugging trap.

In this episode, Ted talks about why specifications are the key to shipping clean code, how AI is teaching us to repeat the same mistakes, and why thinking first can prevent hours of wasted time. Oh, and did we mention he turned his TDD method into a board game?

If you’re tired of writing code that never quite meets your expectations, this episode will show you a new, smarter way to work.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

1. Why starting with specifications can save you from endless debugging
2. How Test-Driven Development (TDD) is more about thinking than just testing
3. Why AI is amplifying the same mistakes developers already make without clear plans

Things to listen for:

(00:00) Meet Ted Young

(01:45) The problem with coding without thinking first

(05:10) Why "test-first" is the wrong approach

(09:00) Ted’s journey from trial-and-error coding to TDD

(12:30) How AI is teaching us the wrong workflow

(15:45) Why specifications are more important than you think

(19:30) Breaking down Test-Driven Development into nine steps

(23:50) Turning TDD into a board game

(28:10) The challenge of writing clean code with AI

(32:05) Why TDD isn’t just about writing tests

(36:30) How developers can avoid the "burn toast" scenario

(40:15) The real cost of messy, untested code

(44:00) The importance of breaking code down into small, manageable steps

(48:20) How Ted uses AI to rethink development processes

(52:10) Final thoughts on the future of AI and coding

Resources:

Ted Young’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tedmyoung/

Spiral Learning website: https://www.spirallearningllc.com/