Technical debtTOMISLAV RAŠETA@TRASETA

Debt• I want to do or buy something but I have no money• bank credit with yearly interest for n years

• monthly/quarterly/yearly payment plan

• do or buy now and return it later

• OK thing if you have an idea how to follow your payment plan

Technical Debt• doing this quick and dirty way incurs technical debt

• this debt has to be paid back with interest

• smoking addiction – it’s very bad for you but you can’t stop

• same thing with technical debt

Bankruptcy• too much debt leads to bankruptcy = spending more

time maintaining old quick’n’dirty stuff then doing actual new stuff

• real life example – ex-employee rumors from Netscape – too much technical debt led to technical bankruptcy causing the need for complete rewrite which caused, in the end, company closure

Kill it with fire• if you have a feeling that you’re doing too much

maintenance of old stuff, don’t hesitate

• killing old stuff and starting clean can save you time and money

Business• “I need this now”

• “This has to be done quickly”

• “Deliver it ASAP”

• “If it’s late, your bonus is in jeopardy”

• …

Project Manager• ideally – successfully connecting business side with

technical side

• real life – not so much

• big projects – technical manager?

Avoid bankruptcy• refactor continuously (10% of your time?)

• go into debt if it’s justifiable

• paid it back when you can

• insist on following your “payment plan”

• start clean if you think that’s better (complete rewrite)

Collaborate and communicate• don’t be afraid to speak out

• point out the benefits of doing things clean

• enjoy the fruits of your work later

Interest• even small debt can become huge if you count in the

interest

Awesome links• Tomislav Car• http://

tomislavcar.com/tekstovi/2014/7/14/kako-se-utjeruje-tehnicki-dug

• Croatian only

• Jeff Attwood• http://blog.codinghorror.com/paying-down-your-technical-debt/