Technical debt
Also called tech debt.
The future cost of shortcuts taken in code today.
Last updated
What it is.
Technical debt builds up when a team picks a quick solution over a cleaner one, or when code ages as the business changes around it. Copy-pasted logic, missing tests, an old framework version and a database design that no longer fits are all forms of it.
Like money debt it has interest. Each later change takes longer, breaks more often and needs more testing. Some debt is a sensible trade, such as shipping an MVP fast to learn. The problem is debt nobody writes down or plans to pay back.
Why it matters
Debt shows up as slower releases, more bugs and engineers afraid to touch parts of the system. It is a large part of total cost of ownership that does not appear in the build quote. Knowing where it sits lets you decide what to fix, what to live with and what to rebuild.
Common mistakes.
- 01
Calling every disliked piece of code debt. Debt is a cost you can point to, not a style preference.
- 02
Planning a full rewrite to clear it. Paying it down in steps, alongside features, is usually safer.
- 03
Keeping it invisible to the people who set budgets. If they cannot see it, it never gets time.
Work it out with a tool.
Related terms.
- Total cost of ownership (TCO)Everything a piece of software costs over its life, not just the price to build or buy it.
- MVP (minimum viable product)The smallest version of a product that real users can use, built to test whether the core idea works.
- Time and materials (T&M)A contract where you pay for the hours actually worked, at agreed rates.
- Fixed-price contractA contract where the price for an agreed scope is set up front.
Guides and pages
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