Technical debt is all the shortcuts that save money or speed up progress today at the risk of costing money or slowing down progress in the future. It is inevitable, and can even be a good thing
1 as long as it is managed properly, but this can be difficult. The difficultly comes from many causes, usually has hard-to-predict effects, and almost always involves a gamble about what will happen in the future. Managing technical debt is similar to risk management, and similar techniques can be applied. If technical debt is not managed then it will tend to build up over time until a crisis results. It can be the catalyst to system failure, or a multiplier of failures.
Technical debt can be viewed in multiple ways and can be caused by all levels of a company. It can be managed properly only with the understanding and assistance from all levels. It is extremely important to help nontechnical parties understand the costs that can arise from mismanaging that debt.
- Releasing code early to get feedback sooner rather than later can save a company from investing heavily in something that is not desired. Fast feedback helps development stay on track with the customer's desires.
