Behavioral & System Design Technical Debt Software Quality Agile

Managing Technical Debt

Mind Map Summary

  • Topic: Managing Technical Debt
  • Definition: The implied cost of rework caused by choosing an easy (limited) solution now instead of using a better approach that would take longer.
  • Types of Technical Debt:
    • Deliberate: A conscious decision to take a shortcut for a short-term gain.
    • Accidental: Debt that accrues from unintentional mistakes, such as poor design or lack of knowledge.
    • Bit Rot: The gradual decay of software over time as the environment and dependencies change.
  • Identifying Technical Debt:
    • Code Smells: Indicators of deeper problems in the code, such as long methods, large classes, and duplicated code.
    • High Bug Rate: A high number of bugs in a particular area of the codebase can indicate technical debt.
    • Slow Development Velocity: If it takes a long time to add new features, it may be due to technical debt.
  • Prioritizing Technical Debt:
    • Impact vs. Effort: Prioritize debt that has a high impact on the business and is relatively easy to fix.
    • The Boy Scout Rule: “Leave the code better than you found it.” Refactor small pieces of debt as you work on new features.
    • Dedicated Sprints: Allocate a certain percentage of each sprint to paying down technical debt.

Practice Exercise

You’ve joined a team with a critical application that has significant technical debt. Outline your 30-60-90 day plan for addressing it. How would you convince product managers and stakeholders to invest time in these improvements?

Answer

30-60-90 Day Plan:

  • First 30 Days: Assess and Understand

    • Goal: Understand the current state of the application and the extent of the technical debt.
    • Actions:
      • Meet with the team to understand their pain points and the history of the project.
      • Analyze the codebase for code smells, high-complexity areas, and bug hotspots.
      • Set up monitoring and observability to get a baseline of the application’s performance and stability.
      • Create a technical debt register to document and track the identified issues.

  • Next 30 Days: Prioritize and Plan

    • Goal: Prioritize the technical debt and create a plan for addressing it.
    • Actions:
      • Work with the product manager to understand the business impact of the technical debt.
      • Prioritize the technical debt based on impact and effort.
      • Create a roadmap for paying down the technical debt, including a mix of quick wins and larger refactoring efforts.
      • Start with a few high-impact, low-effort items to build momentum and demonstrate value.

  • Next 30 Days: Execute and Evangelize

    • Goal: Start executing the plan and evangelize the importance of addressing technical debt.
    • Actions:
      • Dedicate a portion of each sprint to paying down technical debt.
      • Track and report on the progress of the technical debt reduction efforts.
      • Communicate the benefits of the improvements to the team and stakeholders, such as improved stability, faster development velocity, and fewer bugs.
      • Foster a culture of quality and continuous improvement within the team.

Convincing Stakeholders:

  • Frame it in Business Terms: Instead of talking about “technical debt,” talk about the business impact, such as “slower time to market,” “increased risk of outages,” and “higher development costs.”
  • Use Data: Use data from your assessment to quantify the impact of the technical debt, such as the number of bugs, the time it takes to add new features, and the cost of downtime.
  • Start Small: Start with a few small improvements to demonstrate the value of addressing technical debt. This will help build trust and support for larger efforts.
  • Show the ROI: Show the return on investment (ROI) of the technical debt reduction efforts, such as the reduction in bugs, the improvement in development velocity, and the increase in customer satisfaction.