Know Your Technical Debts | join.tech Blog

BLOG Know Your Technical Debts

Author: David Schmid
Date: 04.07.2024 • Last Update: 04.07.2024, 15:29
Categories: Business Strategies, Software Development

A software project is like a delicate ecosystem. Every shortcut we take to meet a deadline or quickly implement a feature adds a little imbalance to its harmony. This "imbalance" is what we refer to as "technical debt".

Everyone is familiar with the concept of dept: borrowing resources today with the promise of repayment in the future. Most often, we refer to financial debt, where money is borrowed to cover expenses with the expectation of paying it back, usually with interest.

Similarly, technical debt represents a burden on a business that must be paid back one day. Instead of direct monetary payback, it requires time and resources to address. If not managed properly, it compounds over time. Neglecting to address it sufficiently can lead to exponential growth in issues.

However, much like financial debt, having some technical debt isn't inherently bad. It can act as leverage to grow the business, but it needs to be managed wisely and consistently.

This article aims to provide a general understanding of technical debt rather than a deep academic dive. We will explore what it means, why it accumulates and how it can be managed effectively to ensure it serves as a tool for growth rather than a hindrance.

The Year 2000 Problem

A well-known example of how technical debt can silently grow over time is the Year 2000 (Y2K) Problem:

During the 1960s and 1970s many software developers opted to save precious memory by storing dates as two digits, such as "73" instead of "1973". This practice continued for years, even as memory became cheaper and more abundant. Addressing this technical debt never appreared urgent, allowing it to quietly grow in the background.

Over time, these systems became deeply embedded into the operational fabric of many businesses and government agencies, remaining in use far longer than originally expected.

As the year 2000 approached, organizations around the world realized that these systems would fail when the date rolled over from "99" to "00", misinterpreting "00" as 1900 instead of 2000.

This led to a worldwide rush to fix or replace these old systems before they caused major problems. This massive cleanup effort, known as the Y2K remediation, is estimated to have cost around $308 billion worldwide (see here.

The Y2K problem illustrates how minor technical decisions can accumulate into significant technical debt, impacting systems decades later. Initially, the decision to use two-digit years seemed like a small compromise to save memory. However, when this debt finally came due, the cost of repayment was enormous.

The Concept of Technical Debt

Ward Cunningham, a pioneer in software development, introduced the concept of technical debt in a 1992 experience report:

"Shipping first-time code is like going into debt. A little debt speeds development so long as it is paid back promptly with a rewrite... The danger occurs when the debt is not repaid. Every minute spent on not-quite-right code counts as interest on that debt. Entire engineering organizations can be brought to a stand-still under the debt load of an unconsolidated implementation, object-oriented or otherwise."

In simpler terms, technical debt refers to the shortcuts taken in code, the "quick and dirty" solutions implemented to meet deadlines, or the features added hastily without thorough testing. These shortcuts can accelerate development in the short term but often at the cost of long-term efficiency and stability.

It's important to understand that, much like financial debt, technical debt isn't always negative. In fact, it can be a strategic choice. Sometimes, debt is unavoidable, especially when you're racing against the clock to launch a software product. Startups, in particular, often accrue significant technical debt in their rush to bring apps to market.

In the quest to get a product out the door quickly, companies might trade off long-term code quality for short-term gains, such as rolling out shiny new features. Studies on developer productivity reveal that developers are often forced to introduce technical debt due to pressures to meet tight deadlines and the constant demand for new functionalities.

However, technical debt doesn't just impact the codebase - it affects the entire organization. It can erode developer happiness, job satisfaction and morale. When developers are continuously dealing with the burdens of poorly written or complex code, it can lead to frustration and burnout.

The Many Faces of Technical Debt

Technical debt isn't just about sloppy code, it encompasses a variety of factors that can influence future development:

Code Quality: Compromises in coding standards lead to poorly written, inconsistent code, making maintenance challenging.
Inadequate Architecture: Lack of a solid architectural foundation results in systems that don't scale well and are tightly coupled, complicating future changes.
Outdated Technologies: Using obsolete tech introduces compatibility issues, security risks and rising maintenance costs.
Lack of Documentation: Skipping documentation creates knowledge gaps and reduces efficiency in understanding and modifying the system.
Code Complexity: Overly complex or tangled code (spaghetti code) is difficult to understand and navigate.
Inadequate Testing: Skimping on testing leads to unreliable features and makes debugging harder.
Manual Processes: Dependence on manual steps introduces errors and slows down the development and delivery cycle.
Knowledge Silos: Poor knowledge sharing creates dependencies on key individuals and slows down decision-making and responsiveness.

Sometimes, the situation can be even more complex. Consider this scenario: if we hire an external company to develop a product without being aware of the technical debt embedded in it, we might find ourselves in a "hostage" situation. We could become overly dependent on the external team for maintaining or evolving the product, unable to manage or repay the technical debt without their expertise.

Similarly, if in-house developers deliver a product laden with hidden technical debts, we might not realize the extent of these issues until they start to impact performance and scalability.

While it's crucial to be aware of these potential pitfalls, the focus should remain on proactive management and prevention.

Unlike financial debt, which is tangible and easy to quantify, technical debt is embedded within the code, making it hard to explain and justify to business leaders and management. This invisibility often leads to it being overlooked or ignored, even as its impact grows over time.

Managing Technical Debt

Managing technical debt is crucial to maintaining the health and efficiency of a software project. Here are some strategies to keep it under control:

Regular Refactoring: Allocate time in your development cycle to clean up and improve existing code. This prevents small issues from snowballing into larger problems.
Automated Testing: Implementing a robust suite of automated tests can help catch issues early and ensure new changes don’t break existing functionality.
Documentation: Make sure that new features and changes are well-documented. This helps current and future team members understand how things work and why certain decisions were made.
Prioritize Debt Repayment: Just as you would manage financial debt, create a plan to tackle the most critical areas of technical debt first. This might involve dedicating specific sprints or parts of sprints to debt reduction.
Cultural Change: Encourage a culture that values clean code and continuous improvement. When the whole team is committed to managing technical debt, it’s easier to make steady progress.
Continuous Integration and Deployment (CI/CD): Use CI/CD pipelines to ensure code is frequently integrated and deployed. This practice helps in catching issues early and reduces the accumulation of technical debt.
Monitoring and Metrics: Implement monitoring tools and metrics to track the health of your codebase. Metrics like code complexity, code coverage and bug rates can help identify areas of technical debt.

Conclusion

By understanding and addressing technical debt, managers and developers can ensure their innovative ideas continue to thrive long after their initial launch. In software development, staying ahead of your technical debts can make the difference between a thriving product and a struggling project. Keep an eye on those "interest" payments and invest wisely in your code's future!

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