Test-Driven Development for Technology Policymaking

N. Parikh, G. Fahs, and B. Nonnecke

Technology policy frequently does not work as intended. Often, policies in this space do not fully address the issues they are concerned with or have negative unintended consequences. Developing software was also once as ad-hoc and error-prone until robust methods for testing and writing software were developed. This project recommends applying one such framework, test-driven development (TDD), to policymaking to help develop more robust policies that are more likely to accurately address their issue of concern. The method does not require the use of engineering tools or software; it is simply a methodology that focuses on brainstorming concrete situations in which to ‘test’ possible policy solutions.

• Executive summary
• Whitepaper
• Slides
• Additional resources

Citation: N. Parikh, G. Fahs, and B. Nonnecke. Test-Driven Development for Technology Policymaking. The Aspen Institute, Aspen Tech Policy Hub, 2019.