What is technical debt and how can you minimize it during a software project?

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If you work in IT services, you probably know that software projects are complex and dynamic. Sometimes, you have to make trade-offs between speed, quality, and functionality. But what happens when those trade-offs accumulate over time and create technical debt? In this article, you will learn what technical debt is, how it affects your software project, and how you can minimize it during the development process.

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William Rodrigues

Coordenador de Engenharia de Software
Javier Torrón Díaz

Tech Arch Associate Manager
Michel Ghanem

Director program management | Enterprise transformation accelerator | Collective intelligence enthusiast | Lean advocate

1 What is technical debt?

Technical debt is a metaphor that describes the cost of maintaining and updating a software system that was built with suboptimal design, architecture, or code quality. Technical debt can result from various factors, such as tight deadlines, changing requirements, lack of testing, or inexperienced developers. Technical debt can have negative consequences for your software project, such as reduced performance, increased bugs, lower user satisfaction, and higher maintenance costs.

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Javier Torrón Díaz

Tech Arch Associate Manager
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La deuda técnica es una medida respecto a diferentes magnitudes del código fuente y arquitectura técnica de un desarrollo de software. En un término muy general, podemos definir la deuda técnica como "todo aquello que no hemos hecho bien en detrimento del tiempo, la necesidad, un mal dise?o del producto o arquitectura". Todos los ToDo's, todos los atajos que tomamos por prisas, por deadlines o a veces por vagancia o ignorancia en el desarrollo. Los principales puntos que influyen en la deuda técnica y la acentúan son: - Prisa. - Malas practicas. - Definición de producto pobre. - Falta de arquitectura de software definida. La deuda técnica multiplica exponencialmente el costo de desarrollo de mejoras en cualquier aplicación.

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2 How to measure technical debt?

There is no universal formula to measure technical debt, but there are some indicators that can help you estimate it. For example, you can use code metrics, such as cyclomatic complexity, cohesion, coupling, or duplication, to assess the quality and maintainability of your code. You can also use tools, such as code analyzers, code reviews, or code coverage, to identify and quantify the issues and risks in your code. Additionally, you can use business metrics, such as customer feedback, defect rate, or time to market, to evaluate the impact of technical debt on your software project.

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Javier Torrón Díaz

Tech Arch Associate Manager
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Ni existe forma de medir la deuda técnica. Es un concepto no mesurable como un KPI puesto que el grado de complejidad o integración de una deuda se acentúa en cada dependencia, influyendo exponencialmente en la dificultad de implementación de las novedades o correcciones. La mejor forma de hacerse una idea de la deuda técnica existente es apartar dos o tres días para hacer una auditoría de código orientada a visualizar el proceso y complejidad necesarios, así como dependencias, para abordar una refactorización completa del código fuente. Normalmente esto se hace cuando la empresa cambia de nivel de madurez en el ámbito arquitectónico que quiere implementar nuevos niveles tales como el Evento sourcing.

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3 How to prioritize technical debt?

Not all technical debt is equal. Some technical debt may have a minor effect on your software project, while some may pose a serious threat to your software project. Therefore, you need to prioritize technical debt according to its severity and urgency. One way to do this is to use a matrix that classifies technical debt into four categories: low priority, high priority, low urgency, and high urgency. For example, a low priority and low urgency technical debt may be a code style inconsistency that does not affect the functionality or performance of your software system. A high priority and high urgency technical debt may be a security vulnerability that exposes your software system to malicious attacks.

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Michel Ghanem

Director program management | Enterprise transformation accelerator | Collective intelligence enthusiast | Lean advocate
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Have a clear visibility and ranking on the technical debt backlog. Reserve a minimal bandwidth per sprint to treat it. Keep all transparent!

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4 How to prevent technical debt?

The best way to deal with technical debt is to prevent it from occurring in the first place. To do this, it is essential to follow sound software engineering practices and principles throughout the development process. This includes planning and designing your software system with precision, adhering to coding standards and conventions, writing clean, readable, and testable code, refactoring your code regularly and continuously, testing your code thoroughly and frequently, documenting your code properly and consistently, and communicating and collaborating with your team and stakeholders effectively and efficiently.

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5 How to repay technical debt?

Sometimes, technical debt is inevitable and unavoidable, so it's important to repay it as soon as possible to avoid its negative effects. Doing this requires improving the quality and maintainability of your software system by fixing, enhancing, or replacing the problematic parts of your code. There are different strategies for repaying technical debt, such as allocating time and resources to address it in your regular development cycle or in dedicated refactoring sessions, hiring external experts or consultants to help with analysis and resolution, using tools or scripts to automate aspects of repayment, or deleting obsolete, redundant, or irrelevant code.

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Luis Santiago Pérez Echeverry

| Innovación | Transformación Digital | Laboratorios de Innovación | Estrategia | Prospectiva | Vigilancia Tecnológica y Estratégica | Agilismo | Product Management | Design Thinking | Dise?o de Futuros | Product Sense
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Technical debt arises from choosing quick but less effective solutions, resulting in additional work costs. It can be intentional or unintentional, accumulating interest and impeding changes. Causes include lack of understanding, errors, or poorly written code. Managing technical debt involves quantifying, prioritizing critical issues, and incremental repayment. It can be positive or negative, aiding or hindering projects. Similar to financial debt management, calculating, prioritizing, and incremental repayment are key

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6 How to manage technical debt?

Managing technical debt is an ongoing and iterative process that requires constant attention and action. To ensure effective management, you need to establish a technical debt policy, create a technical debt backlog, assign a technical debt owner, review and update the backlog regularly, and communicate and report your technical debt status and progress clearly to your team and stakeholders. Monitoring, evaluating, and controlling technical debt throughout the development process is essential for balancing technical debt with other aspects of your software project.

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7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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William Rodrigues

Coordenador de Engenharia de Software
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é sempre importante considerar a vis?o de negócios ao se tratar de dívida técnica de software. Precisamos ter em mente que a finalidade principal de um software é resolver uma necessidade e gerar valor pelo qual os clientes est?o dispostos a pagar. Em muitas situa??es, a equipe pode optar por assumir uma dívida técnica para atender rapidamente a uma oportunidade de mercado. Por isso é sempre importante que as métricas de negócio estejam claras para o time técnico e que o time também dê visibilidade dos riscos e custos da dívida técnica.

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What is technical debt and how can you minimize it during a software project?

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1 What is technical debt?

2 How to measure technical debt?

3 How to prioritize technical debt?

4 How to prevent technical debt?

5 How to repay technical debt?

6 How to manage technical debt?

7 Here’s what else to consider

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