Think before changing application code for tests

I was reviewing a PR where a test was failing. A user without a role was causing an error in the authorization logic.

The application never expected that situation and was throwing an exception.

My first proposed fix was to add a check to gracefully handle any user without a role.

But wait! In our application, a user should never be without a role.

This is by design. Every user gets a default role on creation.

It's true that adding that check would have made the test pass, but that's the wrong issue to fix.

The problem was that our data was set up wrong in the test, so that's what we should fix:

public function testNonAdminCannotAccessDashboard(): void
{
    $user = User::factory()->create();
    $user->assignRole('viewer');  // Add this role, problem solved

    $this->assertFalse($user->canAccessDashboard());
}

The test now reflects reality.

The lesson? Be careful when you catch yourself modifying application code purely to make your tests pass. Sometimes the test is telling you something is wrong with your test, not your app.

Here to help,

Joel

P.S. Did you know we publish these tips in a volume for easy offline reading?