A good definition of technical debt used by software developers is that technical debt occurs when work builds up due to the implementation of quick-fix short-term solutions in lieu of more optimal but also costlier resolves. An example of the financial metaphor used for technical debt involves borrowing money on high-interest terms to fix a short-term problem which can become a long-term issue when it leads to additional credit denial, lower credit scores, and owing a lot of interest. This is the risk involved when consumers get into credit card debt resolution quick-fixes.
So, before getting that loan or driving off in a new car, think about the repercussions making a quick decision can have down the road if unable to make payments consistently for the duration of the loan. As is often the case, debt resolution can become a long-term problem.
That’s the way technical debt works. It’s not the result of lame developers making a quick-fix decision, and it’s not always a negative. Actually, technical debt is often used to launch a minimum viable product (MVP) and get ahead of the competition.
It may be a solution that can be improved upon in the near future as revenue increases, and the issue can be worked out again under different parameters. It is often the case that technical debt can be the result of time constraints when developers are trying to do a month’s work in just a week or two and making a sprint for it causing an upheaval in the work environment that could set off chafed developers.
Product managers usually try to avoid getting burdened with debt and insist on negotiating the already acquired debt in the most ameliorating way as to cause the least disruption in the innovation.
The following tips can help make the difference when it comes to technical debt management:
- Technical debt open discussion forum for developers
Most developers are already aware of technical debt in existence and can offer insightful knowledge about the way to go about deciding on projects currently being developed. They are the most qualified to provide solutions and avoid glitches. Discussing the technical debt regularly during planning and production meetings can help improve long-term resilience and elasticity to expand.
Included in the discussion with developers should be questions about the allocation of resources and cutting down on the already existent technical debt as well as other activities. Some of these questions could foster greater two-way communication that could avoid getting into more technical debt by foreseeing the pitfalls.
Here are some of the questions you can ask:
- How will taking this shortcut help us out?
- What is the buy-in to this quick-fix option?
- Do we need to further investigate the reworking and refactoring challenges?
- What are the dependencies involved in the solution?
- What are the future implications of taking on this debt?
- How long can we wait on this?
Some debt is expected to occur, but in ever compromise there is a give and take. As soon as you start implementing tools and building frameworks, they become outdated. Understanding the reasons and implications down the road is the first step to better technical debt management.
- Maintenance cannot be overrated
It takes organizational decision-making to devote a percentage of the time to fix bugs, maintain systems, technical debt, and everyday business. It may seem like an obvious thing to do, but in reality, it takes leadership to set the standards.
In most cases, technical debt is always present and setting off reminders to get the problem fixed sometime down the road, but it may never get done unless it comes back to haunt the development team with the instability of the application. However, most often, those responsible for the underlying operations never get to prioritize making updates as new and more exciting features come on board. Moreover, most stakeholders don’t want to listen to justifications.
However, to get the attention required to build-up the importance of prioritizing technical debt solutions, painting a scenario of what could happen if not addressed might be a persuasive argument. Nine of ten times, technical debt sees its day in the sun once no new features can be added on or when fixing the problem will, in turn, enhance the development efforts currently being made.
Every product manager should encourage and build-in the time and resources allocated to debt-related problems and solutions. An engineering roadmap dedicated to fixing bugs with the goal of eliminating the technical debt altogether will guarantee the progress of the product and reduce its weaknesses on an ongoing basis. Hitting a wall at some point can be avoided with continuous technical debt elimination. Only then will new features be stable enough to launch.
- Key performance indicators (KPI) for every product
If you want to prioritize technical debt, one way of doing it is to create a KPI around the product’s performance. For websites, there may be specific goals for metrics or loading time which can only be solved by addressing technical debt. However, if the culture is not supportive of technical debt management, as a product manager, the best thing to do is to push for feature-related work which will ultimately be dependent on technical debt solutions. Requiring a specific feature of an application to have a quicker display will speed up the process of eliminating technical debt.
- Track technical debt the same way development items are tracked
Making technical debt part of the list will ensure a more significant project in the future. If those tasks are usually placed in the backlog along with other activities, they can be tracked and resolved along the way. However, if they are not included in the log, they’re not in sight and, therefore, forgotten.
Keeping technical debt in the backlog also sends a clear message to the team of developers that reinforces the need to tackle technical debt issues along with the rest of the activities being tracked on a daily basis. Making a note of the debt and tracking it allows the problems that are outdated to be seen and resolved as other product features are updated.
