Managing Technical Debt

Everyone knows they must manage their financial debt to be successful in business. Managing “Technical Debt” is another matter. Far from an imaginary concept, “tech debt” is real. Almost every project incurs technical debt over time. Typically during the development and production phases. Unrealistic expectations, "scope creep," stakeholder demands, or poor project management can encourage software development teams to sacrifice quality or take shortcuts. While some “tech debt” can speed the development process, unless it is “paid back” with a revision, the longer the debt is allowed to accrue the more difficult and expensive it becomes to fix. Just like financial debt, companies either must address it or ignore it at their own peril. Eventually the “loan comes due.” Steven Rabin writing in the December issue of SD Times presents an excellent case for managing your technical debt. Highly recommended reading.

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