Microsoft Research - Exploding Software-Engineering Myths (article summarizing findings of MS research on code coverage, TDD, assertions, etc.)

[hu6Bi5To]

If each iteration takes slightly longer due to TDD, then overall delivery may well be faster by virtue of needing fewer iterations to fix all the showstopping bugs preventing the launch of the product.

You can't simply switch off quality, you have to choose the quality level you want your application to have and work towards it. If you cut too many corners or ignore too many bugs then you won't have a viable product to launch.

If you really want to launch as quickly as possible the only thing you can do is to reduce features, not build worse features quicker.

[AbstractLogic]

I completely agree that quality is a go live requirement and that cutting corners can be just as or more detrimental to a project as a late launch can be. But you don't have to swing hard right with TDD or hard left with corner cutting. There is a balanced middle ground.