It's Sunday morning in Toronto, so that means pancakes for breakfast.

I use the same recipe from the Joy of Cooking that I've used for the last fifteen years or so, which starts with me heating up my two cast iron pans to a 4.5 setting. After making the batter, I make just one pancake in the middle of each pan, and check that they cook at the right speed to confirm I have the correct pan temperature. And I taste the finished pancake, to make sure I haven't messed up the recipe. (Yes, it's possible to forget a crucial ingredient when following a well-worn recipe -- it's amazing what forgetting salt does do a dish.)

I make pancakes four to a pan, so they're 'silver dollar' pancakes, not more than three inches across. I monitor the colour and the speed at which they're cooking as I go, adjusting the heat if necessary. Finished pancakes go into a covered dish to stay warm.

I believe I'm a careful cook, and I'm also a careful developer. That means test early, and test often. You want no surprises when it's time to dish up the goods to your family (pancakes) or your customers (software). Dreaming up new dishes or new applications it's important to be creative, to try new approaches. Cooking or writing software, you have to be methodical, thoughtful, and meticulous.

I consider myself very lucky to have gone to a really good university, but what I studied (Systems Design Engineering) bears only a tangential relationship to the work I do now. It was actually really good training at reading/comprehension, time management, mental gymnastics, and getting the job done. As long as another program had the same goals, I think pretty much any degree or diploma would have done. An Engineering degree from Waterloo just helped me get my foot in the door that much easier.

Conclusion? Do your development with tests, right from the start. You'll thank yourself, again and again. And it makes for good pancakes. ;)