TLC #18: Practical Ways to Manage Technical Debt
Technical debt is detrimental to your software applications in the long run. I'll share a few practical ways to manage it (Issue #18, 07 Jul 2024)
Hey, Ashwin here! Welcome to edition #18 of the Tech Lead Compass newsletter!
Technical debt is a common issue in big, fast-paced software projects. While it's hard to avoid completely, many teams struggle to handle it effectively. The key is to recognize these challenges and create a smart strategy to address them.
What is Technical Debt?
Technical debt refers to the future costs and extra work created when development teams choose quicker, easier solutions instead of better but more time-consuming approaches. It's like taking a shortcut now that you'll have to pay for later.
It represents extra work for the team, by choosing an easy or sub-optimal solution instead of a better approach that might take longer.
What are some examples?
Here are some common examples:
Skipping documentation or comprehensive testing
Using outdated technology or practices
Neglecting or deferring refactoring
Inefficient or skipped code reviews
What are some ways to continuously tackle technical debt?
Though teams may have their ways of handling technical debt, here are some techniques that are proven to work:
Continuous Refactoring: Improve code structure whenever possible, without changing how it works externally.
Set Clear Standards: Establish and enforce coding standards and best practices across all teams.
Automate Testing: Build a culture of early, automated testing throughout development to catch issues quickly.
Keep Documentation Current: Make updating documentation a regular part of the development process.
Plan for Improvements: Set aside dedicated time in sprints and projects to address technical debt.
Make Small, Regular Fixes: Tackle technical debt in small chunks continuously, rather than letting it pile up.
Use Peer Code Reviews: Have team members review each other's code for all major changes or new features.
Stay Up-to-Date: Regularly review and update your technology stack to avoid obsolescence.
As a tech leader, your key role is to create a team culture that always keeps an eye on technical debt. You need to encourage a mindset where addressing these issues is a regular part of the work, not just an afterthought.
Now on to the must-read news from the past week…
5 “Must-Read” Tech News for the Week
Google is bringing in native AI features to Pixel 9 Series (Android Authority)
According to an exclusive report by Android Authority, Google plans to introduce a new suite of AI features called “Google AI” with the upcoming Pixel 9 series.
According to a recent report by Bloomberg, Apple Inc. is set to secure an observer role on OpenAI’s board as part of a significant AI agreement. Phil Schiller, the head of Apple’s App Store and former marketing chief, will represent Apple in this capacity.
Australia’s top secret intelligence data is set to move to the cloud through an A$2 billion deal with Amazon Web Services. This move aims to enhance defense force interoperability with the United States.
Cloudflare, the publicly traded cloud service provider, has launched a new, free tool to prevent bots from scraping websites hosted on its platform for data to train AI models.
The tool was developed after analyzing AI bot and crawler traffic to fine-tune automatic bot detection models.
How Generative AI helps with contract management (Financial Times)
The Financial Times highlights the growing interest in generative AI for contract management. This technology aims to handle data-rich digital documents more efficiently.
That’s it for the week!
In case you missed the past articles, feel free to read them from here:
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