Understanding the Concept of Technical Debt

Technical debt serves as a metaphor to describe the consequences of poor design decisions and shortcuts in software development. It is often driven by factors such as time constraints, changing user needs, and the addition of new features. The challenge lies in the fact that the impact of technical debt is not always obvious and may not manifest as a visible product feature. This becomes a concern when business leaders solely focus on the number of features delivered without considering cross-functional requirements like scalability and security. To address technical debt, organizations should prioritize measuring and tracking key metrics, both qualitative and quantitative. Additionally, fostering collaboration between technical and business leaders is essential to create visibility, make informed trade-offs, and find solutions.