Dear Rising Team Lead,
Your message about the growing technical debt in the inventory management service has been on my mind. The frustration in your words was palpable - caught between delivery pressure and the knowledge that shortcuts taken now will compound into greater challenges later.
I want to share a framework that has transformed how I think about technical debt. Not all technical debt is created equal, and understanding its different forms can help us make more nuanced decisions about when to take it on and how to manage it.
Think of technical debt as existing in four distinct quadrants, defined by two key dimensions:
First, is the debt deliberate or inadvertent? Did we consciously choose to take a simpler approach, or did the debt accumulate without our awareness?
Second, is the debt prudent or reckless? Was the decision (or lack thereof) based on informed judgment and consideration of consequences, or was it made hastily without appropriate analysis?
These dimensions create four types of technical debt, each requiring a different response:
Deliberate and Prudent Debt is like a strategic business loan - taken on knowingly for a specific purpose, with clear benefits that outweigh the costs. The simplified data caching approach you implemented for the holiday sale is an example. You knew it wasn't the ideal long-term solution, but you documented it clearly and created a ticket for post-holiday refactoring. This type of debt is often a wise investment when managed properly.
Inadvertent and Prudent Debt emerges despite good intentions, as our understanding evolves. Remember how we originally designed the inventory system with a single warehouse in mind? The design made sense given what we knew then, but as we expanded to multiple fulfillment centers, our model proved insufficient. This isn't a failure but a natural evolution of understanding.
Deliberate and Reckless Debt occurs when we knowingly cut corners without considering consequences. The duplicate customer validation logic across three services that we "temporarily" implemented six months ago falls here. We knew it violated our design principles but pushed forward without a remediation plan. This debt tends to compound rapidly and demands prompt attention.
Inadvertent and Reckless Debt accumulates due to knowledge or skill gaps. The junior developer who implemented the returns process without understanding transaction isolation isn't at fault personally - this points to gaps in our mentoring and review processes. This debt requires not just technical fixes but improvements to our team practices.
What does this mean for your inventory service challenges? I suggest first mapping your concerns to these quadrants. For each issue:
- Identify which quadrant it falls into
- Document it appropriately - make the invisible visible
- Develop a strategy tailored to that type of debt
For deliberate, prudent debt, create explicit repayment plans with clear timelines. For inadvertent, prudent debt, schedule regular design reviews to catch evolving needs earlier. For deliberate, reckless debt, strengthen your decision-making processes and peer reviews. For inadvertent, reckless debt, invest in knowledge sharing and mentoring.
The next time you find yourself in a planning meeting where technical debt discussions arise, try introducing this framework. Rather than having abstract debates about "quality versus speed," you can have more productive conversations about which quadrant a proposed compromise falls into and what management strategy it requires.
Remember that the goal isn't zero technical debt—that would be as impractical as a business operating with no financial debt or investment. Instead, we aim for a debt portfolio that is predominantly deliberate and prudent, with clear visibility and management strategies for all forms.
I'm happy to join your next team refinement session to discuss how we might apply this framework to your current challenges. Sometimes a new perspective can help transform seemingly intractable problems into manageable ones.
With organizational vision,
The Engineering Director