The accumulation of sub-optimal technological decisions made during the life of an application is known as technical debt. It becomes increasingly difficult to modify things, and IT endeavors eventually grind to a standstill due to the’sand in the gears.’
Poor state management in an application, for example, can make a horizontal scaling plan more difficult to adopt. You must rewrite the state management component of the code before you can achieve what you really want to do (horizontally scale your application to cope with increased traffic). Technical debt is the effort required to ‘do what’s required before you can do what you desire.’
It’s worth noting that technical debt doesn’t just happen in development; it can also happen in operations. Still using an out-of-date, no-longer-supported operating system like Windows Server 2008 or Ubuntu 11.04? That’s referred to as technical debt. Not patching and updating your servers, leaving you open to cyber-attacks and ransomware? Technical debt, to be sure.
What is meant by technical debt?
This programming theory has its roots in technical debt, which sounds like a financial phrase. Technical debt in software development refers to the concept of deferring certain important tasks throughout the development of a software project in order to meet a deliverable or deadline.
Technical debt is the code you’ll have to do tomorrow because you cut corners to get the software out the door today.
Consider an update to an Excel macro worksheet (.xlsm) using a Visual Basic (VB) script. The new VB code works perfectly in Excel 2013, but it hangs in Excel 365. You placed the code into production for Excel 2013 only, rather than modifying the macro to function under both Excel 2013 and Excel 365, in order to deliver the enhancement quickly. When the service desk begins to push out Office 365, the macro no longer functions. Someone must adapt the VB code to run correctly under Excel 365, which is a technical debt that has recently come due.
What is an example of technical debt?
To help you understand the concept, I’ll start with easy examples and work my way up to more sophisticated real-world cost-benefit calculations so you can apply it in your everyday life.
Example 1: Deliberate Technical Debt
It’s usual for teams to design an app on a framework that reduces development time and costs but is known to break down after a certain amount of users, resulting in technological debt.
Later, by modifying components to remove low-quality code, this technical debt must be serviced. In this scenario, however, it was vital to get to the market fast in order to gain a first-mover advantage.
This was an acceptable technical debt to take on as long as management understood the expenses of re-building the system for scaling users after the launch time.
However, because it’s difficult for non-technical managers to see until user-facing app components start to malfunction, there’s a chance that management will refuse to approve the upgrades.
Example 2: Inadvertent Technical Debt
Inadvertently accumulating technical debt is also possible. When working under a tight deadline, it’s usual for teams to abandon internal best practices and review standards. This can result in code quality issues that a team is unaware of until they see problems in the product.
Because they were merely going as quickly as they could, the crew didn’t know they were making trade-offs in this case. They only realize they have a technological debt when their competitors develop a better useful product that attracts more consumers and pushes them out of the market.
Inadvertent technological debt isn’t always a terrible thing. Some development studies, for example, refer to such errors as “inadvertent prudent” debt, leading in “now we know what we should have done” moments that might aid in team development.
Hiring more qualified engineers, bringing on experienced technical leadership and management, or bringing on outsourced DevOps support or development team augmentation can all help to reduce inadvertent technical debt.
What is technical debt in code quality?
Technical debt (sometimes known as design debt or code debt, but it can also refer to other technical undertakings) is a notion in software development that represents the cost of further rework incurred as a result of choosing an easy (limited) solution now over a better (longer) approach.
If technical debt is not paid off, it might accrue “interest,” making it more difficult to execute modifications. Unresolved technical debt adds to the entropy of software. Technical debt, like monetary debt, isn’t always a negative thing, and it’s sometimes necessary (for example, as a proof-of-concept) to propel initiatives forward. Some experts, on the other hand, argue that the “technical debt” metaphor tends to underestimate the consequences, resulting in a lack of prioritization of the necessary work to fix it.
When a modification is made to a codebase, other coordinated changes in other portions of the codebase or documentation are frequently required. Changes that aren’t made are deemed debt, and unless they’re paid, they’ll accrue interest on top of interest, making it difficult to complete a project. Although the phrase is most commonly associated with software development, it can also be applied to other fields.
What is technical debt AWS?
Ward Cunningham, one of the Agile Manifesto’s creators, coined the term “technical debt.” He once claimed that some coding issues are similar to financial debt. Technical debt, like financial debt, is incurred by completing work quickly with certain known and/or undiscovered gaps. Technical debt, like financial debt, incurs interest payments in the form of extra effort required by technology professionals in future work as a result of design choices or shortcuts. We have the option of continuing to pay interest or paying down the debt by rectifying or polishing the rushed job results into more polished ones. Technical debt is usually unintended, but it has a similar effect to accumulated interest in that it grows over time.
How do you find technical debt?
To summarize, technical debt is the cost incurred when engineers strive to save time and money by opting for a quick and easy method over a more advanced and efficient but time-consuming method when developing software. Over time, technical debt accrues interest and creates software entropy. To accurately assess technical debt, we must express it as a ratio of the cost of fixing a software system to the cost of building the system. The Technical Debt Ratio is the name given to this figure.
I hope you had a good time reading. Please let me know what you think, especially if there’s anything I’ve overlooked that could assist clarify this critical software measure.
Why is technical debt important?
Technical debt is an essential consideration for software developers since difficult-to-work-with code reduces developer productivity and leads to less stable code. All too often, the term “technical debt” is applied to a wide variety of situations, becoming unmanageable as a result.
What causes technical debt?
“Technical debt occurs when IT teams must forego certain development tasks, such as writing clean code, writing concise documentation, or developing clean data sources, in order to meet a specific business deadline,” says Scott Ambler, VP and chief scientist of disciplined agile at Project Management Institute.
Who owns technical debt?
- The Product Owner is in charge of maximizing the value of the Development Team’s work.
- Product Owners accomplish this through controlling the Product Backlog, which can be seen in the content and order of Product Backlog items.
- The Product Backlog is the only collection of requirements that the Development Team will work on, and it should include everything that the product needs to be useful.
- The meaning of the term “The engineering organization or the Development Team provides “Done.”
- The Product Owner addresses Product Backlog items that are appropriate for achieving the Sprint Goal during Sprint Planning.
- Only the Development Team, on the other hand, selects the Product Backlog items that are required to meet the Sprint Goal.
- As new information becomes available, the Development Team adds new Product Backlog items to the Sprint Backlog as needed.
- If the Development Team makes changes to the definition of “Done,” revision of previous product increments may be required.
As a result, I believe the Scrum Guide is purposefully ambiguous on who is responsible for technical debt in order to foster collaboration and self-organization, starting with the Scrum values–courage and openness come to mind–and leading straight to transparency and Scrum’s inherent system of checks and balances.
What is Tech debt in Scrum?
Code is difficult to deal with because of technical debt. It is an unseen software killer that must be vigorously managed. I define Technical Debt and discuss some of the concerns in this post. I’ve previously mentioned that the ScrumMaster’s number one challenge on a team is likely to be getting the team to write Quality Code, which is code that can be readily changed. I mentioned that we (as an industry) understand how to build such code by using XP-style procedures. Regrettably, we frequently fail to do so. Technical debt is the things in and around the code that makes it difficult to alter and prevents it from being Quality Code. To put it another way, ‘Technical Obligation’ refers to the debt owing to the code before it can be considered Quality Code. People frequently refer to code having a lot of Technical Debt as “legacy” (or even “instant legacy”).
Technical debt, in my opinion, is the code’s viscosity; it’s what makes it difficult to read. Going for a run is one of the finest metaphors I have for Technical Debt. Working with Quality Code is like going for a run in the park in nice weather with comfortable shoes. It’s relaxing, and the Team can move fast and confidently. When the weather is favorable, the track is flat, and you’re a reasonably good runner, I like to call this the ‘6-minute code.’ The ‘4-hour code,’ on the other hand, refers to the time it takes to trudge a mile through the marshes with a rucksack on your back and water up to your belly button. The ratio of 6 minutes to 4 hours is 40, which is a decent (if not overly conservative) approximation of how much more difficult it is to deal with bad code versus good code. If you’re a programmer, you’ll understand what I’m talking about…
Technical Debt is a term used to describe the amount of money owed to So, let’s look at Technical Debt in more detail. The main notion is simple; it’s the details that make code difficult to update. As you might expect, this is a significant hindrance to agility, and having a large amount of Technical Debt is probably the most significant impediment to Teams being nimble. To be more specific, the number one killer of agility is having code that the Team is terrified of. Technical debt, on the other hand, isn’t only about the code; there are a number of other issues to consider:
Because it is the ScrumMaster’s role to assist the Team in removing barriers, each of these concerns should be addressed by the ScrumMaster.
So, here’s my definition of Technical Debt: Defects in the code, technical documentation, development environments, third-party tools, and development procedures make it difficult for the Team to alter the code.
Q4. A team member has been showing signs of great personal distress: crying at work, snapping at colleagues, having heated phone conversations. As Team Facilitator, what should you do?
- Inform the team member’s manager of your observations and request assistance.
- Inquire if the team member would like to discuss what is going on in their personal life.
Q6. What is the Product Owner’s role in deciding the priority of work in the sprint backlog?
- Unless the developers are unable to complete the work, in which case the PO should prioritize the remaining work.
Q8. Why should you apply Weighted Shortest Job First?
The WSJF (Weighted Shortest Job First) priority strategy is used to sequence jobs (e.g., Features, Capabilities, and Epics) in order to maximize economic gain. Priorities are constantly modified in a flow-based approach to ensure the optimum economic outcomes. The best outcome is achieved by sequencing jobs rather than focusing on individual job returns on investment. WSJF is used to prioritize backlogs by assessing relative CoD and job size (a proxy for the duration). (Source)
Q9. You have classified the features in your backlog according to risk and value. Which features should the development team work on first?
It is recommended that high-value, high-risk things be tackled first. While it may seem contradictory, the sooner this task is completed, the sooner the team can address the concerns and unknowns, resulting in a higher-quality output. If there is a failure, it will happen quickly and at a low cost. (Source)
Q15. What should happen if the Product Owner does not accept a story by the end of the iteration?
- In the velocity computation, the team is not given credit for the story’s points.
Q18. The VP of Engineering wants to start giving out a “Team Member of the Sprint” award to recognize a top performer in each group. What advice should you give this VP?
- Unless there has been recent employee feedback suggesting that workers feel underappreciated, this is ineffective.
- This is a terrific idea as long as each sprint is led by a different person.
- This is counterproductive since it threatens the team togetherness that is necessary for great performance.
Q19. What is a difference between a team’s task board and a Kanban?
The scrum team’s task board has an explicit rule: tasks cannot be added to the scrum board in the midst of a sprint. (Source)
Q20. The team complains that “things have been falling through the cracks lately.” What should you do?
- Organize a workshop to identify all of the tasks that must be completed and determine who can assist with each.
- Check the RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) assignments for the team.
Q23. A manager informs you that a developer from another team is between assignments, and she wants to place the developer on your team for a few sprints. What should you do?
- Explain to the manager that this will be disruptive to the team and that you need to find another assignment.
Q24. The Product Owner complains to you that the team is not working hard enough and they need to increase their velocity by at least 50%. Which action should you not take?
- Share the PO’s feedback with the team and challenge them to increase their speed.
- Explain to the PO the impact of technical debt and the advantages of allocating some resources to eliminate it.
Q38. Which statement about technical debt is true?
- The Product Owner is in charge of allocating effort to decrease technical debt.
- The Product Owner owes the developers technical debt if they spend a lot of overtime to finish the sprint.
Q43. You have noticed a pattern that the most interesting stories on the Sprint Backlog get started right away, and the least interesting stories languish or don’t get done. What should you do?
- Share your findings with the team and ask them to take ownership of the issue and find a solution.
- Raise the points awarded to the least intriguing stories during story point estimate so that the team can increase their velocity.
- Request that the Tech Lead assign each story to a developer so that they can be completed quickly and with accountability.
Q53. Why should a team do refactoring?
- To avoid personality problems, it distributes developers to other teams.
- It enhances the design, which can lead to more efficient development and maintenance.
Q67. What is the name of the ceremony in which you inspect the work completed during the sprint?
Sprint Retrospective: Discuss what worked well in the previous sprint, what may be improved, and how to make it more productive. Discuss what was completed during the sprint and whether the sprint target was attained during the sprint review. (Source)
Q69. As an Agile coach, what should be your attitude toward your team members individual goals and motivations?
- Understand their motivations and strive to match them to the team’s progress toward the project’s objectives.
- Utilize them—personal goals can be used to motivate team members to improve their performance.
Q72. What does the Definition of Ready mean?
Ready tales must be actionable right away, according to the definition. To finish the User Story, the Team must be able to determine what needs to be done and how much labor is required. (Source)
Q75. What is the definition of capacity?
- It is a list of the team’s knowledge and abilities that is used to plan their work.
- It’s a velocity adjustment used in Spring Planning to account for team members’ lower availability during the following sprint.
Q77. The team is complaining that they send request for clarification to the Product Owner, but these requests go unanswered. What action should you take?
- If a story question arises, instruct the developers to exercise their best judgment, prevent delays, and discuss the issue during sprint review.
- Send a note to the Product Owner explaining that the team will not be responsible for any delays in finishing the job.
- Ask the Product Owner to sign off on a service-level agreement (SLA) that specifies response times for various sorts of requests.
- Plan a problem-solving session with the Product Owner and the rest of the team.
Q82. What is the definition of velocity?
- The time it takes a story to go from the product backlog to the sprint backlog on average.
- The amount of time it takes a developer to finish a tale divided by its worth
Is documentation a technical debt?
Technical debt is a metaphor for the difference between a software system’s actual state and its hypothetical ‘ideal’ state. Documentation debt, which occurs when code is generated without supporting internal documentation, such as code comments, is one of the most significant and under-investigated aspects of technical debt. According to studies, obsolete or missing documentation is a significant contributor to increasing software system maintenance costs. The relevance of comments is frequently ignored by software engineers, resulting in a significantly slower growth rate of comments in software projects when compared to the growth rate of code. This study attempts to investigate and better understand developers’ reluctance to document code, as well as to propose effective techniques to persuade programmers to document their code using persuasive technology. The findings could help software developers and project managers manage and eliminate documentation debt.
What is technical debt in infrastructure?
Technical debt in IT infrastructure refers to the expense of not keeping technology components like computers, servers, network components, apps, and so on up to date with the current business and technology landscape.
