OAS' Strategies for Proactively Managing Technical and Technological Debt
Technical debt is a metaphor frequently employed in software development and the management of digital resources. It denotes the future costs incurred from additional rework that results from choosing a quick or suboptimal solution now, rather than dedicating time to a more effective and sustainable approach.
Gartner recently released an article entitled "What is Technical Debt, and Why is it a Barrier to Digital Impact?" In this publication, Gartner defines Technical Debt as follows:
"Work that is “owed” to an IT system when teams “borrow” against long-term quality by making short-term sacrifices, taking short cuts, or using workarounds to meet delivery deadlines. These debts can impact system performance, scalability or resilience. " Read more
However, OAS does point out that there is difference between Technical Debt and Technological Debt.
While technical debt primarily pertains to software development practices and code quality, technology debt encompasses a broader spectrum of challenges within the IT landscape. This includes concerns such as outdated infrastructure, inefficient processes, cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and the operational ramifications of deferred investments in technology infrastructure and systems.
(Note: Both technical debt and technological debt are often collectively referred to as "tech debt.")
Like financial debt, tech debt accumulates interest, in this case in the form of extra work that needs to be done in the future. Managing technical debt is crucial for maintaining operational efficiency and ensuring that digital products can scale and evolve without excessive overhead.
OAS offers key strategies for managing tech debt proactively in the fast-paced field of digital technology.
1. Recognize and Track Tech Debt
The initial step in effectively managing tech debt is to recognize its existence. Development teams should routinely assess their projects for instances of technical debt and document these occurrences meticulously. This documentation should encompass the causes of the debt, its potential impacts, and a preliminary resolution plan for both technical and technological debt. Utilizing tools such as issue trackers or debt management software can aid in maintaining an organized record. Furthermore, it is essential to establish a comprehensive infrastructure to ensure compatibility.
2. Prioritize the Repayment of Tech Debt
Not all tech debts have equal impact. It's essential to assess and prioritize them based on the risk they pose to the project’s future development or maintenance. Critical debts that can lead to significant scalability issues or security vulnerabilities should be addressed first. This prioritization should be revisited regularly, considering new features and changes to the project.
3. Set Aside Time for Regular Refactoring
Refactoring is the process of restructuring existing computer code while preserving its external functionality. It serves as an effective strategy for addressing technical debt. By scheduling regular refactoring sessions, teams can maintain clean and manageable code that aligns with the organization’s existing environment. This proactive approach not only helps prevent the accumulation of new technical debt but also facilitates the efficient management of existing debt.
4. Cultivate a Quality-Oriented Development Culture
The development environment should nurture practices that prevent the creation of new tech debt. This involves adopting standards, performing constant reviews, and encouraging pair programming. By instilling a quality-first mindset within the planning and implementation stages organizations can reduce the inclination to make poor short-term decisions that lead to long-term problems.
5. Use Automation to Detect and Prevent Debt
Automated tools such as static code analyzers, linters, environment health checks, and automated testing can effectively identify and mitigate potential technical debt before it becomes entrenched. By implementing continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines that incorporate these tools, we ensure that code is regularly assessed, thereby minimizing the risk of technical debt being overlooked and left unaddressed.
6. Budget for Debt Reduction
Allocating specific time and resources for handling tech debt is just as important as budgeting for new features or maintenance. This might involve dedicating a percentage of each development sprint to addressing tech debt or having specific roles or teams tasked with debt reduction duties.
7. Involve All Stakeholders
Effective management of tech debt requires understanding from all parties involved in a project, from the development team to upper management. Regular meetings and transparent reporting on the status of tech debt can help ensure that all stakeholders understand its implications and support decisions made to manage it.
8. Educate and Train Your Team
To prevent tech debt from occurring, it is essential to continuously educate and train the development team on best practices in coding and design. Workshops, training sessions, and access to learning resources can empower developers to make better decisions and write cleaner, more maintainable code.
9. Make Strategic Use of External Code
External libraries and frameworks can reduce development time and prevent reinventing the wheel; however, they can also introduce their own types of debt. It's crucial to choose well-supported libraries and frameworks and keep them updated to mitigate these risks. Regularly reviewing and updating dependencies can prevent compatibility problems and security issues that contribute to technical debt.
10. Learn from Mistakes
When tech debt leads to noticeable problems, it’s important for the team to perform a post-mortem analysis. Understanding what decisions led to the accumulation of debt and how it could have been avoided or mitigated can provide valuable lessons for future projects, avoiding the repetition of past mistakes.
Conclusion
OAS strongly recommends the adoption of the aforementioned strategies. However, it is essential to adhere to a crucial guideline: avoid acquiring technology merely for its own sake. This trend has become prevalent as organizations strive to improve their operations through the latest technological advancements. Nevertheless, it is imperative for IT administrators to look beyond the hype and conduct comprehensive research on any digital technology before its implementation.
Finally engaging a skilled and experienced IT consultancy represents a prudent business strategy. Such a consultancy can assess the current state of the organization’s technological environment and offer recommendations to effectively reduce tech debt through comprehensive strategic planning and implementation.
Furthermore, collaborating with the consultancy promotes proactive management, which not only enhances the technical quality of projects but also improves the effectiveness and satisfaction of development teams by minimizing reliance on crisis management and last-minute solutions.