Software development companies need to opt for technical debt when they need to deliver a project in a short span of time. The word technical debt is like a financial debt except for the company here refers to the work that needs to be done in a short span of time before being delivered to the end client. There is a lot of debate when it comes to technical debt. Some believe that technical debt is bad and unhealthy for the organization. There are others that believe that technical debt is good for a company and should be resorted to on a regular basis. Now, the question is what do experts say?
Technical debts- are they good or bad?
Experts in the field say that smart financial choices and debts can really help you attain goals in life faster. They say that all technical debts are not bad provided they are managed effectively. They should offer tremendous benefits to your organization. The above is relevant and completely holds true for companies that are growing very fast. These companies have the need to deliver and ship their products early. This needs to be done to fulfill the expectations of the customer and meet his or her needs. Experts in the field of technical debt state that just like financial debt, it is important for you to be prudent about technical debt. If you are not careful, technical debt has the ability to hamper your business performance and bring in low morale issues. This can be dangerous to the development of the project and cause your business to sink entirely.
Ways to manage technical debt in the organization and avoid issues
Deliberate every technical debt your company needs
There are several cases where a software team of the company embraces the wrong way to deliver the end product to the user; It is here that the developmental team has to determine the right way to do the right thing when it comes to fast shipment of goods to the end consumer. Technical debt needs to be discussed with the team. If the discussion is made valuable insights will be gathered and this goes a long way into determining the success of the project. When you and your team are working on a project, determine the time and work needed to deliver the project in a limited period. Understand the implications of the technical debt and ensure that all the stakeholders are aware of the fact that the technical debt taken will slow down other launches of the company.
Outdated design and technical debts
In the technical world, designs and changing every minute and they can become backdated in a short time. Experts in the field of technical debt state that you should have the ability to think calmly for the future. When it comes to the design of the product, you will find that people hardly get it correct at the first time. Therefore, focusing on a design that is new and original makes a lot of sense.
Esteemed name in the field of debt relief – Nationaldebtrelief.com says that for many people technical debt refers to making quick changes to the end product so that it can be delivered to the end user faster. Here, the payments of interest come in the form of effort that the development team needs to put into the product. This is where you as the product manager needs to be agile so that you can implement the changes at the right time in the right way. You have to focus on things so that they work well. Debt management here is the need of the day!
What causes technical debts to grow?
Technical debts have to be managed well or else like financial debts they can hamper the progress of an organization. Like financial debt, you need to make sure that technical debt does not grow at all. The product manager needs to keep the following technical debt in check. The following are the key factors that cause technical debt to accrue-
- Development and operations are defined poorly- the technical shortcuts are not resorted to well and cannot meet the deadlines of the project
- The absence of documentation- the logic of the code is beyond the understanding capability of the developer
- The development tools used for the project are insufficient
- Automated testing is ineffective and has yielded zero results
As a product manager, you need to be aware of the tools and activities that cause technical debts to accrue. Some of the common causes of technical debt can be from old codes and systems that have been used in new applications to meet the short deadlines. When changes to the code are made, it should be documented instantly so that the progress of the project is not hampered. In case you are careful with the set of instructions that are added to a guide, you will land up with a set of instructions to the code that others are unable to follow.
Take the amount of work you can manage
Another cause of technical debt is taking up too much of work than you can manage. This is where team planning will help you to determine the amount of work that you should take for the software project to be completed faster. When team members are working on a project, they should always be told to work on one project at a time. Technical debt tends to increase when members of one team are asked to work on other projects. When you are trying to control technical debt, ensure that it is discussed well with the whole team. This will help you curb its growth. The development of the business is not hampered when you have technical debt in control. The product manager must be aware of how technical debt is moving in the organization and the ways via which it can be controlled.
Timeframes are important and remember when your company moves faster and wishes to deliver projects within deadlines, technical debt also accrues!
