Effective Strategies for Balancing Technical Debt

Remember that feeling of excitement you get when you’ve thought of an idea for your next project and you can’t wait to get started?

Regardless of your skill level, building something new is fun!

You get to see your ideas come to life - it’s what being a developer is all about.

You’re so excited that you just want to get it done quickly.

At this stage, it’s not really about whether it’s the best code you’ve ever written or the worst. As long as it works and you’ve got something to show for it then that’s all that matters for the time being.

Besides you can always refactor it later.

But what happens when your MVP is no longer an MVP?

And you get so caught up in improving what you’ve built so far that your project gets bigger and bigger.

The more you use it or let others use it, the more features you add.

Suddenly you start forgetting (or at least deprioritising) that refactoring work you promised yourself you’d get around to doing.

Before you know it there’s this invisible threat creeping into your project that you never paid much attention to through all the excitement.

And not dealing with it can be costly - literally.

This threat is known as Technical Debt.

What is Technical Debt?

Technical debt or “Tech Debt” is a concept in software development that reflects the implied cost of additional rework caused by choosing an easy (often quicker) solution now instead of using a better approach that would take longer.

The term was popularised by Ward Cunningham, one of the authors of the Agile Manifesto. He used a metaphor for financial debt:

Just as financial debt can accumulate 'interest' over time if not repaid promptly, so can technical debt—unaddressed shortcuts in the codebase can lead to more significant problems down the line, effectively increasing the "interest" on that debt.

Causes of Technical Debt

Technical debt can arise from various situations, such as:

1. Rushed code
   When you're under pressure to deliver features quickly, you may take shortcuts that allow the project to move forward but leave behind code that is difficult to read, lacks documentation, or doesn't adhere to coding standards.

2. Trade-offs
   Sometimes, it might be a strategic decision to incur some technical debt. If getting a product to market quickly is a priority, you might choose to build a more straightforward, less robust solution now, with the understanding that you will need to improve or overhaul these elements later.

3. Lack of knowledge
   At times, the best solution may not be apparent at the start of a project (especially if you’re learning to code).
   As your understanding improves, you may start to recognise that parts of the system are not designed optimally. Until you can address these issues, this understanding represents technical debt.

4. Obsolete technologies
   Over time, parts of the codebase may become outdated or deprecated. The cost of updating these parts of the codebase, or the potential issues that can arise if they are not updated, can also be considered technical debt.

What Makes Technical Debt an “Invisible Threat”?

The interesting thing about the accumulation of technical debt is that it can often be a subtle, invisible process.

Unlike a bug that breaks functionality or an error message that pops up on the screen, the symptoms of technical debt are not immediately apparent.

Technical debt quietly builds up in the background, silently degrading the maintainability of the codebase and slowing down feature development.

It’s kind of like a leak in a ship.

At first, the invasion of water is manageable, and the ship sails on seemingly like nothing’s wrong. However, if left unaddressed, the water level gradually rises, and the ship's performance begins to suffer until it becomes unseaworthy and sinks!

In the same way, a codebase loaded with technical debt may still function as expected, leading us to a false sense of security.

However, behind the scenes, the system becomes increasingly complex and fragile, making it harder to extend, more prone to bugs, and ultimately, slowing down the development speed.

Types of Technical Debt

There are many types of technical debt, but one of the simplest and most popular ways to review the types comes from Martin Fowler’s Technical Debt Quadrant.

Martin Fowler, a prominent figure in the field of software development, has given us a thoughtful perspective on technical debt.

Instead of debating whether a certain aspect should be classified as technical debt, Fowler encourages us to consider whether the debt is prudent (sensible) or not.

He further differentiates debt into two categories—deliberate and inadvertent—forming a quadrant that categorises technical debt into four distinct types:

1. Deliberate and Reckless
2. Inadvertent and Reckless
3. Deliberate and Prudent
4. Inadvertent and Prudent

The quadrant guides us to understand the different things that contribute to technical debt regarding software development teams.

When we talk about prudent technical debt, we refer to scenarios where the development team fully understands the context of the debt and the implications of repaying it in the future. This might include strategically deciding to incur some technical debt in order to quickly get a product to market, with a clear plan for addressing the debt later.

On the other end of the spectrum, reckless technical debt is accumulated when there is a lack of understanding or concern for the long-term implications. In such cases, the software system can start to resemble a maxed-out credit card, with no plans or resources allocated to paying down the debt.

The most concerning type of technical debt is the kind that is undocumented, unmanaged, or has spiralling consequences—much like compound interest in financial debt.

This form of debt can have an increasingly negative impact on the software project, making it critical to identify and manage as soon as possible.

Although Fowler’s Technical Debt Quadrant is directed towards software development teams, we can still consider these issues for our own projects when it comes to managing technical debt.

The Impact of Technical Debt on Your Projects

When technical debt is left unmanaged it can spiral out of control.

This can eventually lead to having a negative impact on your overall project:

How tech debt impacts your Code

• Increased Complexity - As technical debt grows, the codebase becomes increasingly complex. This increased complexity not only complicates problem-solving but also speeds up the rate of more debt.
• More bugs - Technical debt often leads to a rise in software bugs, impacting the product's functionality and reliability and reducing its quality.
• Decreased Code Quality - The quality of code can deteriorate due to shortcuts or rushed decisions, which in turn fuels the cycle of adding technical debt.

How tech debt impacts your Product

• Failing Functionality - The presence of technical debt can cause features to malfunction or underperform, which restricts usability, hurts user satisfaction, and damages the product's reputation.
• Delayed Delivery - Tackling technical debt can slow down the release of new features, impacting your users who may depend on the timely rollout of these updates.
• Increased Downtime - A high amount of technical debt can lead to more frequent system downtime and outages of your product.
• Security Risks - In severe cases, the issues caused by technical debt can increase the risk of serious events, such as data security breaches.

How tech debt impacts You

• Slower Development Speed - The burden of managing technical debt can slow down the development process, as you have to devote time to handle it, delaying the introduction of new features.
• Lowered Morale - Technical debt can be demoralising for us. As let’s face it, we’d rather work on new features and tackle complex problems rather than deal with technical debt.
• Quitting - High and persistent technical debt can lead to overall dissatisfaction with your project and if the other problems become too much to handle, you might just decide to quit it and give up!

Strategies to Balance Technical Debt

Balancing the management of technical debt with the development of new features is important for maintaining productivity and code quality.

Here are some strategies that can help in achieving this balance:

Regular Refactoring 🔁

Refactoring is a continuous process of codebase management and optimisation. Regular refactoring can be a steady means of paying off technical debt, leading to cleaner and more maintainable code over time.

Allocated Time for Debt Reduction 🕰

Designating a certain amount of development time to specifically tackle technical debt, for instance, 20%, can be effective. E.g. if you’re working on your project for 2 hours, spend at least 20 minutes or so on reducing tech debt.

This approach ensures regular attention is given to debt reduction without it becoming too overwhelming.

Prevention Strategies 🚧

Prevention is often the best cure. By writing clean, maintainable code from the start, following industry best practices, and conducting frequent code reviews, technical debt accumulation can be managed more easily.

Prioritisation of Debt Reduction 📆

It's important to realise that not all technical debt needs immediate attention. Some of it may live in rarely accessed parts of the codebase and can be left for later.

The focus should be on addressing technical debt that either currently causes issues or has the potential to in the future.

Conclusion

In the excitement of building awesome things, balancing the demands of new feature development while managing technical debt can quickly become a constant challenge.

Technical debt, if left unchecked, can significantly hold back your productivity, degrade code quality, delay product delivery, and even become demoralising for you.

However, by understanding its causes, recognising its various forms, and using strategic practices, we can control its accumulation.

Regular refactoring, dedicated time for debt reduction, preventive measures, and prioritisation of debt reduction are all effective strategies that can help you get to grips with the balance between pushing out innovative features and maintaining a clean, manageable codebase.

Technical debt is not just about 'cleaning up' code. It involves a shift in mindset, where technical debt becomes a part of your software development process.

The key to effective technical debt management is not just about getting rid of debt but about its strategic management.

Using a balanced approach towards technical debt, acknowledging it as a part of your journey, and learning how to handle it, will pave the way for a smoother, more sustainable software development journey.

Don’t forget to pay off your debts!

From your fellow ever-growing dev,

Cherlock Code

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