What Is Technical Debt and How Do You Manage It?

Last Updated on 2024-10-11

Technical debt is an expensive inevitability of almost any IT project. 

With sound management strategies and practices, technical debt doesn’t have to jeopardize your business.
In this article, we’ll study what is technical debt and how it accumulates. Also, we’ll provide practical tips to help you manage and reduce it.

What Is Technical Debt in Software Development?

As a business owner, you have to fully understand what is technical debt and what commonly causes it.

Technical debt is the accumulation of sub-optimal or expedient solutions in software development that can slow future progress and increase costs.

It represents the extra development work that arises when a team chooses a quick and easy solution now instead of using a better approach that would take longer.

Like financial debt, tech debt has a cost over time. 

It comes in the form of software patches, increased maintenance requirements, restructuring, bug fixes, and lengthy development processes.

And when it is not managed or reduced, technical debt can even lead to a company’s downfall. 

Causes of Technical Debt Buildup

Technical debt can accumulate for a variety of reasons, including:

1. Deadline pressure: Tight project schedules or urgent demands may force developers to take shortcuts to meet delivery deadlines, leading to less-than-ideal solutions.
2. Lack of experience: Inexperienced software developers might inadvertently write code that isn’t efficient or maintainable.
3. Changing scope: If requirements shift during development, previously well-designed code might become obsolete or incompatible.
4. Temporary solutions: Developers sometimes implement quick fixes or short-term solutions to address immediate issues, intending to revisit them later (which often never happens).
5. Ignoring code quality: Failure to adhere to coding standards and best practices can lead to bad code debt that is difficult to read, understand, and maintain.
6. Outdated technologies: Using obsolete or deprecated technologies can create technical debt as they become harder to maintain and integrate with newer solutions.
7. Inadequate testing: Incomplete or insufficient testing may cause undetected bugs or vulnerabilities, leading to future complications.

Managing Technical Debt

Now that we understand the concept of what is technical debt, let’s learn how to manage it.

Effectively managing technical debt is crucial to prevent it from hindering the long-term software development process. 

Here are some strategies your development teams can use:

1. Regular code reviews: Conduct regular code reviews to identify and address potential technical debt early in development.
2. Automated testing: Implement automated testing practices to detect bugs promptly and ensure changes to the codebase don’t introduce new technical debt.
3. Refactoring: Dedicate time for intentional and systematic refactoring of code to improve maintainability and growth.
4. Document debt: Keep track of technical debt and document it to increase awareness among team members and stakeholders.
5. Align with business objectives: Make decisions about addressing technical debt based on your business goals and needs.
6. Technology upgrades: Regularly assess the software stack and update outdated technologies to avoid accumulating technical debt due to unsupported or obsolete integrations.
7. Modularity and design patterns: Encourage the use of modular design patterns and clean architecture to make systems more maintainable.
8. Collective code ownership: Foster a culture of collective code ownership, where team members feel responsible for the quality and maintainability of the entire codebase.
9. Avoid over-engineering: While writing maintainable code is crucial, avoid over-engineering solutions that can lead to unnecessary complexity and potential technical debt.
10. Measure technical debt: Use tools and metrics to evaluate and quantify technical debt, helping set realistic debt reduction goals and track progress over time.

Finding the Right Partner for Software Development

When it comes to managing and reducing technical debt, partnering with the right software development provider can make all the difference.

You need experts who completely understand what is technical debt and how it affects your project in the long run.

Look for a provider that:

• Specializes in technical debt management and has a proven track record of helping clients address this challenge
• Utilizes best practices, such as regular code reviews, automated testing, and refactoring, to prevent and reduce technical debt
• Employs experienced developers who are well-versed in writing clean, maintainable code
• Offers transparency and communication throughout the development process to ensure alignment with your business objectives

Work with Full Scale

At Full Scale, we have a team of seasoned software developers and engineers who are experts in managing and reducing technical debt.

We employ proven strategies and tools to help our clients maintain a healthy codebase, enable faster development cycles, and drive long-term innovation. 

By partnering with Full Scale, you can:

• Benefit from our extensive experience in technical debt management
• Leverage our expertise in agile software development practices
• Reduce the time and resources required to manage technical debt
• Focus on your core business while we handle the technical complexities

Contact us today to learn more about how Full Scale can help you tackle technical debt and accelerate your software development.

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