The Agile Daily Standup - AgileDad How To Defeat The 3 Most Common Arguments Against Technical Debt
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May 8, 2025 The discussion dives into the challenges of managing technical debt, especially in fast-paced startup environments. Personal anecdotes reveal how it can accumulate over years without attention. Strategies for communicating the necessity of addressing these issues with stakeholders are shared, emphasizing data-driven persuasion. Furthermore, the importance of collaboration and measuring the impact of resolving technical debt is highlighted, showcasing how it leads to improved efficiency and financial benefits.
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Startup's Technical Debt Struggle
- Lee Henson shared a personal experience of accumulating technical debt in a startup for five years without capacity to address it.
- A full-time engineer refactored 20% of legacy code in a year, implying it would take five more years to clean the system, excluding new debt.
Business Side Resists Debt Fixing
- Resistance to addressing technical debt mostly comes from business side prioritizing quick product delivery.
- They don’t reject the problem maliciously but can’t see the payoff of refactoring within tight deadlines.
Use Analogies to Explain Debt
- When faced with blame that technical debt is caused by bad engineers, explain debt is a normal trade-off for speed.
- Use relatable analogies like moving a couch on a small car roof to show pragmatic decisions.