What is technical debt

Technical debt refers to the consequences and costs incurred from taking shortcuts or compromising on quality during software development. It can result in increased complexity, reduced code quality, and challenges in the future.

Managing technical debt is crucial for the success of software projects, and it is an important aspect covered in IT Service Management (ITSM) training courses. ITSM training courses focus on best practices for managing and delivering IT services, including software development. Ignoring or neglecting technical debt can result in increased development costs and diminished business outcomes. Therefore, it is essential for both software developers and high-level decision-makers to prioritize understanding and addressing technical debt.

In this article, we will understand what technical debt is and how to manage it. We define technical debt, discuss its impact on software development projects, and offer insights into effectively measuring various types of technical debt within your organization. Additionally, we provide a range of proven practices that can help you effectively manage and mitigate technical debt.

What is Technical Debt? 

Technical debt refers to the concept in software development where shortcuts, compromises, or suboptimal solutions are made during the development process. These shortcuts may be intentional or unintentional and often result from time constraints, resource limitations, or a focus on delivering immediate results. While they may provide quick solutions in the short term, they can create long-term consequences and thus increase the cost.

What causes technical debt? 

Technical debt can be caused by four factors and circumstances during the software development process.

• Business causes: Business causes of technical debt occur when business needs or constraints lead to compromises in development practices. For example, there may be pressure to release products or features quickly to meet market demands or beat competitors. In such cases, development teams may take shortcuts or skip certain best practices to deliver software faster or within a limited budget, which can result in the accumulation of technical debt.
• Context switches: Context switches refer to situations where the initial plans and assumptions made during the design and development process no longer hold true due to changes in technology, market conditions, or organizational requirements. As tech stacks evolve, systems become outdated, or business priorities shift, development teams may have to take shortcuts or implement quick fixes to adapt and keep the system operational. These changes can contribute to the accumulation of technical debt over time.
• Development causes: Development-based causes of technical debt occur due to factors within the development process itself. Insufficient resources, such as limited time, budget, or skilled personnel, can lead to compromised practices. Poor documentation, including inadequate code comments or lack of architectural documentation, can make it difficult for developers to understand and maintain the system effectively, leading to technical debt. Additionally, a lack of thorough testing and quality assurance can result in undetected defects or incomplete implementation, contributing to technical debt.
• People-based causes: People-based causes of technical debt stem from issues related to the people involved in the development process. Lack of experience or expertise among team members can result in suboptimal solutions or implementation choices. Poor communication, especially in distributed teams or across departments, can lead to misunderstandings and inconsistencies that contribute to technical debt. Shifting resources, such as team members being reassigned or leaving the project, can also disrupt continuity and result in technical debt if knowledge transfer is insufficient.

Technical Debt Types:

Below are the types of technical debt.

1. Deliberate Technical Debt (Active Debt):

Deliberate technical debt refers to situations where a company knowingly and intentionally makes decisions to defer resolving certain technical issues in order to achieve specific short-term goals. This could be seen as a strategic trade-off made with the understanding that some compromises in code quality or system design are acceptable in the pursuit of immediate objectives. An example of deliberate technical debt is that developers choose a framework that is fast to build on but has known flexibility issues since management sets a short deadline to reach the market quickly and get the "first movers" advantage. 

While deliberate technical debt can be a conscious and calculated choice, it's important to recognize that it carries potential long-term consequences. Accumulated technical debt can lead to increased maintenance costs, decreased agility, reduced scalability, and a higher risk of system failures or vulnerabilities. It is crucial for companies to have plans in place to address and pay down deliberate technical debt in the future to avoid it becoming a burden on the overall system stability and productivity.

2. Inadvertent Technical Debt (Passive Debt):

Inadvertent technical debt refers to types of technical debt that arises unintentionally or accidentally. It usually occurs due to lack of knowledge, carelessness, or poor decision-making. Let us look at them in detail:

• Code debt: This refers to poor code quality, including issues such as excessive complexity, lack of proper documentation, and coding practices that make the code difficult to understand, maintain, or extend.
• Design debt: This occurs when the design of the software system is suboptimal or lacks proper architectural principles. It may involve shortcuts taken during the initial design phase, resulting in a system that is difficult to scale, modify, or integrate with other systems.
• Testing debt: When software lacks sufficient automated tests or has inadequate test coverage, it can lead to a higher risk of bugs and issues going undetected. Testing debt can accumulate when there is insufficient time or resources dedicated to proper testing practices.
• Documentation debt: Inadequate or outdated documentation can hinder the understanding and maintenance of the software. When documentation is not kept up to date or is insufficiently detailed, it can result in increased technical debt.
• Infrastructure debt: This refers to outdated or inefficient infrastructure, such as outdated hardware, unsupported software versions, or a lack of proper configuration management. Infrastructure debt can lead to stability and performance issues in the software system.
• Deployment debt: This occurs when the process of deploying and releasing software is not well-optimized or lacks automation. Manual deployment processes, long release cycles, or a lack of continuous integration and delivery practices can contribute to deployment debt.
• Knowledge debt: When knowledge about the software system is not properly shared or documented, it can lead to knowledge gaps and dependencies on specific individuals or teams. Knowledge debt can result in delays and inefficiencies when onboarding new team members or addressing issues.

Understanding Technical Debt in the Context of ITIL:

Technical debt in the context of ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) refers to the consequences and costs incurred due to compromised design, implementation, or maintenance choices made during the IT service lifecycle. ITIL focuses on IT service management and provides a framework for managing IT services effectively. In the context of ITIL, addressing technical debt requires proactive strategies and a comprehensive understanding of the IT service lifecycle. One such strategy that can help organizations effectively manage technical debt is ITIL foundation training. ITIL Foundation training covers strategies to mitigate and establish a dedicated team to address technical debt.

In the context of ITIL, technical debt can arise from various factors, such as:

• Suboptimal design: Making design choices that prioritize short-term goals or expedience over long-term maintainability, scalability, or performance.
• Insufficient testing and quality assurance: Skipping or minimizing testing activities, which can result in undetected defects, errors, or vulnerabilities that may accumulate technical debt over time.
• Rushed or inadequate implementation: Deploying changes or updates without proper planning, documentation, or adherence to best practices, leading to technical debt.
• Lack of knowledge transfer: Insufficient knowledge sharing or documentation, which can make it difficult for new team members or stakeholders to understand and maintain the system effectively.

In the context of ITIL, technical debt can be seen as a risk to the organization's IT infrastructure. It can lead to problems such as:

• Increased costs: Technical debt can lead to increased costs in the long run. The organization will need to spend more time and money to fix the problems that were caused by the shortcuts.
• Reduced reliability: Technical debt can reduce the reliability of the IT infrastructure, making it more likely to experience outages or other problems.
• Reduced security: Technical debt can reduce the security of the IT infrastructure, making it more vulnerable to cyberattacks.

Relationship between Technical Debt and IT Service Management

Technical debt and IT Service Management (ITSM) share a symbiotic relationship. They both play integral roles in ensuring the quality and effectiveness of IT services within an organization.

The relationship between technical debt and ITSM becomes evident in various aspects:

• Incident Management: Technical debt can directly impact incident management. Suboptimal code, unresolved bugs, or architectural weaknesses resulting from technical debt can lead to frequent incidents and longer resolution times. Incident management within ITSM focuses on minimizing the impact of incidents on services and ensuring swift restoration.
• Change Management: Technical debt poses challenges in change management processes. When technical debt is present, making changes to IT systems becomes more complex and riskier. Effective change management practices within ITSM consider technical debt and prioritize its reduction to minimize risks associated with changes.
• Problem Management: Technical debt is closely linked to problem management, which focuses on identifying and addressing the root causes of recurring incidents. Resolving technical debt helps eliminate underlying problems, reduce the recurrence of incidents, and enhance service stability.
• Release and Deployment Management: This process can be used to manage the release and deployment of new or updated software that is used to address technical debt. This would ensure that the software is released and deployed in a way that minimizes the risk of introducing new problems.
• Service Improvement: When IT systems are burdened with technical debt, resources are consumed in maintaining and fixing existing issues, leaving little room for optimization and enhancement. Resolving technical debt becomes crucial for creating a solid foundation for continuous service improvement efforts.
• Alignment with ITSM Principles: ITSM frameworks provide guidance and structures for identifying, prioritizing, and managing technical debt as part of overall service management strategies. By recognizing technical debt as a crucial factor in service delivery, organizations can optimize their ITSM practices and ensure efficient service operations.

Mitigation Strategies for Technical Debt 

Mitigating technical debt requires proactive strategies to reduce its accumulation and address existing debt. Here are some effective mitigation strategies:

• Track and Remove Cruft: Maintain a list of technical debt and categorize it based on complexity, cost, and impact. Make the list accessible to relevant stakeholders and schedule regular clean-up sessions to address the debt.
• Avoid Hiring Low-Quality Developers: Prioritize value and quality over price and quantity when hiring developers. Smaller, high-performing teams are more effective than larger teams of underperforming coders.
• Write High-Quality Code: Measure code quality using metrics such as complexity, coupling, lines of code, and maintainability index. Reward developers based on high-level work and created a coding style guide to promote cleaner code.
• Use Automated Testing: Implement automated testing instead of relying solely on manual testing to uncover and address tech debt consistently and accurately.
• Keep Transparent Records of Changes: Maintain a repository of all changes made, allowing developers to trace sources of problems and document tech debt. This record is particularly useful for distributed teams and complex projects.
• Create a Tech Debt Team: Establish a dedicated team with in-depth knowledge of the product and experience in making tradeoffs between quality and speed. This team should communicate the purpose of tech debt to upper management, create a roadmap for repayment, and ensure developers adhere to the plan.
• Allocate Time and Resources: Set aside sufficient time and resources to address tech debt. Balancing new feature development with debt repayment is crucial to avoid accumulating more debt in the long run.
• Regular Code Refactoring: Perform regular code refactoring to make the code more understandable, maintainable, and reliable. Implement code review procedures and introduce code linting to further improve code quality.
• Adjust the Definition of "Done": Develop a standard for manageable tech debt and consider a product "done" only when it meets these requirements. This ensures that debt is not ignored or overlooked during development.
• Strike the Right Balance Between Speed and Quality: While speed and time-to-market are important, it's crucial to manage tech debt proactively. Make strategic tradeoffs when necessary but prioritize repaying tech debt to avoid future roadblocks and maintain a competitive edge.

Benefits of Addressing Technical Debt in ITIL 

• Improved Service Quality: Organizations can improve the overall quality of their services, ensuring they meet or exceed customer expectations and align with defined service level agreements (SLAs) outlined in ITIL.
• Enhanced Service Availability: Addressing technical debt helps organizations mitigate these risks, improving service availability and minimizing the impact of incidents on service operations.
• Efficient Change Management: By reducing technical debt, organizations can streamline the change management process, making it easier to introduce new features, updates, or enhancements while minimizing risks and ensuring smooth transitions.
• Increased Agility: Addressing technical debt allows organizations to reduce dependencies on outdated systems or technologies, enabling them to respond more promptly to evolving needs and seize new opportunities.
• Cost Savings: Organizations can reduce ongoing maintenance efforts, enhance system efficiency, and optimize resource allocation, leading to potential cost savings in the long run.
• Improved Security and Compliance: Addressing technical debt helps organizations enhance security measures, ensure data protection, and meet compliance requirements, reducing the risk of data breaches or non-compliance penalties.
• Better Resource Allocation: Organizations can redirect resources to more strategic initiatives, innovation, or other critical areas that drive business value.
• Enhanced Customer Satisfaction: By reducing technical debt, organizations can provide more reliable, responsive, and efficient IT services to their customers. This, in turn, leads to improved customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Importance of Proactive Technical Debt Management in ITIL 

Proactive technical debt management is significant within the ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) framework. Here are key reasons why organizations should prioritize proactive management of technical debt within ITIL:

• Maintain Code Quality and System Stability: Proactive management helps maintain code quality and system stability by preventing the accumulation of excessive technical debt.
• Reduce Maintenance Efforts: By regularly identifying and resolving debt, organizations can prevent the compounding effect of debt over time, minimizing the need for extensive bug fixes, patches, and rework.
• Enhance Development Productivity: Reducing technical debt allows developers to spend less time dealing with legacy issues. This allows the team more time to deliver new features and enhancements.
• Increased security: Proactive technical debt management can help to increase the security of the IT infrastructure by addressing security vulnerabilities before they are exploited.
• Mitigate Risks and Future Costs: Technical debt poses risks to software projects, such as delayed timelines, increased costs, and decreased customer satisfaction. By investing in debt reduction efforts upfront, organizations can avoid future costly rewrites, extensive refactoring, and customer dissatisfaction.
• Foster Continuous Improvement: By consistently addressing technical debt, organizations foster a culture of ongoing learning and optimization. TOGAF online training can play a crucial role in supporting proactive technical debt management within the ITIL framework.
• Customer Satisfaction and Business Success: By maintaining code quality, and responding to customer needs quickly, organizations can meet customer expectations.

Conclusion 

In conclusion, technical debt refers to the accumulated cost of taking shortcuts or making compromises in software development that may lead to reduced quality, increased complexity, and higher maintenance efforts in the future.

Managing technical debt requires a proactive and strategic approach. It involves identifying, prioritizing, and addressing areas of technical debt through practices such as refactoring, code reviews, automated testing, and continuous improvement. By allocating time and resources to reduce technical debt, organizations can improve the maintainability, stability, and efficiency of their software systems.