Architectural Technical Debt

Architectural Technical Debt

André Lindenberg André Lindenberg

André Lindenberg

Head of AI ? Vice President ? Advisor ? Experience in Automotive, Aviation, Telecommunications, Financial Services, Public Sector ? Follow for Insights on AI, IT Modernization, and Digital Innovation

发布日期: 2022年8月30日
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Not being careful when making technical decisions can have a negative impact on any organization. But what exactly is architectural technical debt, what are the disadvantages and how can we avoid it?

What is architectural technical debt?

Architectural technical debt is the difference between the current state of an organization's IT architecture and the optimal state of that architecture. It is the result of making decisions during the design and development of an IT system that trade off short-term benefits for long-term costs. Over time, the accumulated architectural technical debt can have a significant negative impact on the organization, including reduced agility, increased maintenance costs, and decreased ability to take advantage of new technologies.

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What are the five most critical aspects coming from architectural technical debt?

  1. Reduced Agility: An organization with a lot of architectural technical debt is less able to adapt to changing business conditions. This can make it difficult to respond to new opportunities and threats in a timely manner.
  2. Increased Maintenance Costs: The more complex an IT system is, the more expensive it is to maintain. As architectural technical debt accumulates, the maintenance costs of an IT system can increase significantly.
  3. Decreased Ability to Take Advantage of New Technologies: New technologies often require changes to an existing IT system. If an organization has a lot of architectural technical debt, it may be less able to take advantage of new technologies.
  4. Increased Risk of Outages and Security Breaches: A complex IT system is more likely to experience outages and security breaches.
  5. Decreased employee satisfaction: employees may become frustrated with working in a complex IT system that is difficult to change. This can lead to decreased employee satisfaction and turnover.

How can architectural technical debt be avoided in the mid and long term?

  1. Avoid making decisions that trade off short-term benefits for long-term costs.
  2. Make sure that the IT architecture is designed for change.
  3. Continuously monitor the IT architecture for signs of technical debt.
  4. Have a plan for dealing with technical debt when it is discovered.
  5. Invest in improving the IT architecture on a regular basis.

If you want to learn more about how we can support you with identification, quantification, and mitigation of technical debt and the risk it causes, feel free to get in touch with me.

Christina Albrecht

Data is the new Digital - Transformation h?rt nie auf!

2 年

André Lindenberg good read. I know you head für 5 aspects ... nevertheless I would like to add a 6st to avoid technical dept: align your organisation and team topos with your IT architecture. Really seems you left this one open to provoke my comment ?? Heng Cao what do you think?

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Christian Klingler

Director bei Exxeta AG

2 年

Awesome read André! Especially the first critical aspect resonates with me. Very common issue.

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Ryan Kehl

Change agent, Team Builder, and Golf ball smasher.

2 年

André?- 5 'Decreased employ satisfaction.' This point hits home ?? . How many people walk out the door or avoid an organization altogether because of rigid systems and the glacial pace of change? Architecture can be a beneficial or detrimental differentiator in today's hyper-competitive talent market! Thanks for sharing! #developerexperience

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5 次回应
Michael Kaufmann

MD Xebia | Microsoft Services Germany. DevOps, GitHub, and Cloud. Microsoft Regional Director (RD) and Most Valuable Professional (MVP). Speaker, trainer, and book author.

2 年

Where is your beard ??

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3 次回应
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