Are tests slowing us down? Are they really worth the effort?

Tests, tests, we need 100% coverage! You probably hear this every day. I am a really big fan of testing and I do it every day, on every piece of code I write. But is it worth the effort? Is it worth having more lines of code for tests than actual application code? Are tests really slowing us down?

Writing tests is hard, it takes a lot of time and consumes a lot of energy. A lot of developers are still not used to writing tests for literally every piece of code and they need your help. At the same time, you have the client that’s expecting delivery on time and you’re under big pressure. You need to make some decisions, there’s not enough time. Are tests worth the time and effort? Should we just keep going and leave them? What are the pros and cons? Do we really need them at all or we’re just wasting our time? All those questions are bouncing around and you’re close to stopping writing tests and rush everything. But is it really worth? Let’s find out!