ATDD Accelerator

Become the engineer who ends the firefighting.

You're the one who sees it: regressions escaping every release, manual testing crawling, a third of the team's time disappearing into rework. The ATDD Accelerator puts the fix in your hands — master ATDD on real, legacy-style code, then bring the safety net to the project you actually ship. You become the engineer your team turns to when it has to ship reliably.

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Self-paced · build a real project · personal 1:1 feedback
Build your own project
You build your own ATDD solution hands-on on an open-source project, applying each step as you go.
Java, .NET & TypeScript
Reference implementations in Java, .NET, and TypeScript — ready to follow in your own stack.
Personal 1:1 feedback
Your project work is personally reviewed one-on-one — written feedback you can act on, on your own schedule.
Built for legacy code
Aimed squarely at the tangled, untested code you actually ship — not clean textbook katas.
The Problem

You see it before
anyone else does.

Ship, test, report a bug, fix, retest — and round it goes. You're the one watching each loop run slower than the last, regression bugs creep back in, and rework quietly drain the team. You've raised it. "We'll add more QA" never fixes it.

Every release is one you dread

Another manual regression pass — ship, test, report, fix, retest. The cycle stretches longer each time, and the predictable delivery you keep promising slips further out of reach.

The bugs your users find first

Manual QA can't keep pace with the codebase. Regressions slip through to production, and you're the one fielding the fallout — again.

You're firefighting, not building

Roughly a third of the team's time goes to fixing regressions instead of shipping features. You feel the capacity draining away, and you can't get anyone to fix the root cause.

The fix isn't more manual testing. It's catching regressions automatically — before they ship.

The Approach

Feedback in an hour, not weeks.

Acceptance Test-Driven Development flips the order of work.

You write a system-level acceptance test describing the behaviour you want before you implement the story. That test becomes both the specification and the safety net — so instead of waiting weeks for a manual regression pass, you get fast, reliable feedback within an hour, every time you run the suite.

That's what the ATDD Accelerator teaches.

Why Not Do It Yourself

You shouldn't have to reverse-engineer this
from scratch.

Everything ATDD needs is technically out there — but it's scattered across a shelf of books, conference talks, and blog posts, none of which fully agree, and none of which show you how the pieces fit together on real legacy code. So you do what a conscientious engineer does: you read all of it and try to assemble the puzzle yourself.

That's where most ATDD attempts quietly die:

The Accelerator hands you the method already assembled — the pieces in the right order, proven on legacy-style code — so you spend your time applying it, not hunting for it. What takes years of trial and error on your own, you do in a fraction of that, building something real you can point to. You don't need another book on the shelf. You need the method, in order, that you can put to work on Monday.

The Curriculum

One curriculum,
two parts.

The curriculum runs in two self-paced parts — from a trustworthy delivery pipeline to full ATDD, practised hands-on as you build your own project on an open-source codebase. Apply each step when you're ready; there's no schedule to keep up with.

You build on the sandbox so that when you turn to your own codebase, you've already done it once — the sandbox is the rehearsal, your real project is the point.

Part 01

Pipeline Accelerator

Build a fast, reliably green delivery pipeline — the safety net that ATDD runs on.

  • 01Introduction
  • 02Commit Stage
  • 03Acceptance Stage
  • 04QA Stage
  • 05Production Stage
Part 02

ATDD Accelerator

Acceptance testing and the architecture that makes it hold on real, legacy code.

  • 01Getting Started
  • 02Smoke Tests
  • 03E2E Tests
  • 04Architecture — Clients
  • 05Architecture — Drivers
  • 06Architecture — Channels
  • 07Architecture — Use Case DSL
  • 08Architecture — Scenario DSL
  • 09Architecture — External Stubs
  • 10Acceptance Tests
  • 11Contract Tests
  • 12ATDD — Acceptance Criteria
  • 13ATDD — Acceptance Tests
  • 14ATDD — Contract Tests

You work through the lessons at your own pace, building your project as you go — there's no fixed schedule to keep up with. This is the current curriculum; we may update or change it over time.

Who It's For

Built for the engineer who
leads the turnaround.

Most people who take the Accelerator aren't beginners — they're senior engineers and tech leads who've worked out that the real bottleneck is manual everything: manual testing, manual deployment, manual regression. They're done waiting for someone else to fix it. You learn ATDD properly, prove you can do it, and become the person who turned your team's delivery around — the one they turn to when it has to ship reliably.

And it doesn't stop with you.

What you turn around

Master this and you don't just fix your own work — you bring the safety net back to the code your whole team ships, and it's your name on the change:

  • You speed delivery up — fewer releases lost to slow, manual regression passes.
  • You keep bugs out of production — regressions caught automatically, before they ship.
  • You set the pipeline architecture — design the delivery pipeline and the system-level tests that hold it together, alongside your DevOps engineer.
  • You become the in-house champion — use the sandbox project to train the rest of the team in the same method.
The Credential

Become an Optivem Certified
ATDD Practitioner.

This isn't just lessons you watch — it's a path to a credential. Prove you can do ATDD on real, legacy-style code and earn a certification that says so — concrete proof you can lead this, not just talk about it, the kind you can put in front of your manager when you make the case.

  1. Complete the full sandbox program

    Work through the open-source sandbox end to end, applying every step of ATDD hands-on — the same techniques you'll bring back to your own codebase.

  2. Pass your 1:1 sandbox review

    Your sandbox work is personally reviewed and signed off. Clear that review and you're certified as an Optivem Certified ATDD Practitioner.

Included.  Certification runs through your 1:1 sandbox review — part of the offer for everyone who enrols.

Get Access

One offer, everything in.

Every enrolment includes a full year of support — weekly office hours, async Q&A, and personal 1:1 sandbox reviews — plus the curriculum itself, yours to keep, with no expiry.

The Accelerator

Curriculum + Coaching

The full self-paced program, plus live weekly office hours, async Q&A, a personal 1:1 review of your sandbox work, and the path to certification.

€1,997 one-time

+ VAT · company-expensable

Enrol now

30-day money-back guarantee — full refund, no questions asked. Details

Not sure it's the right fit? Book a call

  • Full curriculum — Pipeline + ATDD
  • Reference implementations in Java, .NET & TypeScript
  • Hands-on open-source sandbox — built for real legacy code
  • Weekly live office hours — drop-in group Q&A, subject to availability
  • Async Q&A support in a chat group
  • Personal 1:1 sandbox review — async written feedback
  • Optivem Certified ATDD Practitioner on passing the review
  • One full year of support — office hours, Q&A & 1:1 reviews
  • Curriculum access — yours to keep, no expiry

Bringing a team? Put everyone on one invoice and expense it once, with a volume discount that grows with headcount — 10% off 3–4 seats, 15% off 5–9, 20% off 10+. Book a call to discuss.

The offer includes the curriculum — yours to keep — plus a full year of support (office hours, Q&A, and 1:1 reviews). It's a one-time payment; a company invoice (name + VAT, EU reverse-charge where valid) is available at checkout — easy to expense.

Expensing it to your company?

Add your company name and VAT ID at checkout for a proper invoice, ready to claim from a learning & development or training budget. And you've got a clear case to make: you come back able to cut regression bugs, speed up delivery, and train the rest of the team. The whole program is a one-time, expensable cost — no subscription to justify.

About Your Instructor

Valentina
Jemuović

Technical Coach at Optivem. Years spent helping engineering teams across Europe and North America get tangled, untested code under control — and ship safely, faster.

"Teams aren't stuck for lack of theory. They're stuck because no one's shown them how to apply it to real, legacy code."

She built the ATDD Accelerator to teach that method directly — acceptance testing and the pipeline and architecture that make it hold on production code — now as a self-paced program you can work through on your own.

ATDD TDD CI/CD Hexagonal Architecture Clean Architecture Legacy Code
Valentina Jemuović, Technical Coach at Optivem
FAQ

Common questions.

Is this live or self-paced?
The program is fully self-paced — no cohort dates or enrollment deadlines, you work through it whenever it suits you. On top of that you get weekly live office hours for your first year: a drop-in group call to bring your questions. They run roughly weekly and follow my calendar, so on weeks I'm out of office that session is skipped.
How does the program work?
Self-paced and hands-on — you work through the lessons and build your own project as you go, on your own schedule. Each lesson comes with reference implementations in Java, .NET, and TypeScript, and you build on an open-source project, never your real production code.
What's in the curriculum?
The curriculum runs in two parts: the Pipeline Accelerator (5 modules) builds a trustworthy delivery pipeline, and the ATDD Accelerator (14 modules) covers acceptance testing and the architecture behind it. This is the current curriculum and may be updated or changed over time.
What language and stack?
We use Java as the primary language throughout the lessons, with reference implementations in Java, .NET, and TypeScript. The method itself is language-agnostic — acceptance tests, test design, and getting legacy code under test apply across stacks.
Do I need prior TDD experience?
No. The program starts from the fundamentals and builds up to full ATDD, practised on an open-source sandbox project. If you've written tests before you'll move faster, but it isn't assumed.
Do I work on my real-life project?
You build your project on a shared open-source codebase — not your own or your company's production code — so there's nothing proprietary involved and no risk to production. The techniques are built for exactly the legacy problem you're facing — getting tangled, untested code under test without a big-bang rewrite — so you apply the same approach to your real codebase afterward.
How does the sandbox review work?
It's a personal 1:1 review of the work you've done on the sandbox project, delivered as written feedback — async, not a live call — so you can act on it on your own schedule. Reviews are included for your first year.
How do I become an Optivem Certified ATDD Practitioner?
Two things: complete the full sandbox program — working through the open-source sandbox project end to end — and then pass the 1:1 review of that work. Clear the review and you're certified. Both steps are part of the offer, so certification is open to everyone who enrols.
What are the office hours?
A live, drop-in group call — roughly weekly, included for your first year — where you can bring questions and work through them with me. They follow my calendar, so on weeks I'm out of office that session is skipped. They're separate from your personal 1:1 sandbox review, which is async written feedback on your own schedule.
Can I expense it to my company?
Yes — add your company name and VAT ID at checkout for a proper invoice (EU reverse-charge applies where valid), ready to expense to an employer. It's a one-time cost, not a subscription.
What if I enrol and don't finish?
That's exactly what the support year is for. Weekly office hours, async Q&A, and your personal 1:1 review mean you're not left alone with a self-paced program hoping willpower carries you — you've got direct help getting unblocked and onto your real codebase. And it's backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Can I get a refund?
Yes — the Accelerator comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee. If it's not the right fit, request a full refund within 30 days of enrolling, no questions asked. Full conditions are in the Terms.
Get Started

Start on the sandbox.
Finish on the code you actually ship.

Master ATDD on a real, legacy-style project — then bring the safety net to the codebase that's giving you grief right now, and be the engineer who turned delivery around.

Get Access See the curriculum →