I recently presented my course TDD: From the Beginning in Reykjavík, Iceland in associated with Sprettur. I had a great time working with local programmers, testers. and managers, and I had my first opportunity to visit Reykjavík, which I’ve wanted to do for several years.

I want to thank Sprettur publicly for all they’ve done for me to prepare for this course. They did what any great host does: let me prepare to teach and take care of the rest. I’ve only had one difficulty in this trip: deciding where to eat each day.

As always with these courses, we discussed more than just the mechanics of TDD. We also spent time discussing:

• debugging communication with the Satir Interaction Model (see Don’t Let Miscommunication Spiral Out Of Control for more)
• how your personal financial situation affects how you work (see We Live Here Now to read about how we retired on April 1, 2008)
• how The Goal relates to test-driven development and evolutionary design
• how test-driven development teaches the principles of modular design, and good object-oriented design
• how test-driven development brings a sense of completion to your work and helps you relax more

I also had the chance to see the birth of a Software Craftsmaship Group in Reykjavík. Gulli and I announced the first non-North American Code Retreat, tentatively scheduled to happen before May 31. This will launch a new group in Reykjavík concerned with issues of software craftsmanship. Thanks to Patrick Wilson-Welsh, Corey Haines, Nayan Hajratwala, LeanDog, and all the people who helped make the Code Retreats in Ann Arbor MI and Cleveland OH such a success. I look forward to Code Retreats in Montréal, Halifax, and Reyjavík, if my budget allows.

In all, a great week, and it hasn’t ended yet!