How Can Startups Effectively Manage Technical Debt Without Slowing Down Innovation?
Erkam Bozan
17 replies
Technical debt is a common challenge for startups, especially when speed and innovation are key. It's like borrowing time to get things done quickly, but eventually, you have to pay it back. If left unchecked, it can slow down progress and increase costs.
Have you faced this issue in your projects? How do you strike a balance between moving fast and keeping your codebase clean and maintainable? Do you have any tips or strategies for managing technical debt? And how do you convince your team and stakeholders to invest time in fixing technical debt when there are always new features to build? Let's share our experiences and solutions on this tricky but important topic.
Replies
Andreas Sohns@andreas_sohns
I completely relate to this! Regular "dept sprints" focused on cleaning up the codebase help keep things manageable. Another tip is to include code cleanup time with each new feature.
Share
Technical debt can come in many shapes and form. The key idea is to prioritize managing technical debt equally as new features are prioritized. Of course new features are the glamorous bits and they tend to get more attention, but that should not always be the case.
If you are doing development in sprints, you can dedicate a sprint or two every now and then to address any technical debt or simply have some refactoring done, to keep everything neat, organized and up to date.
Paillor
Managing technical debt is indeed challenging for startups. Balancing speed with code quality is crucial. Regular refactoring and prioritizing debt alongside new features helps. Convincing stakeholders? Show them how clean code boosts long-term productivity and reduces costs. Anyone else have tips? @andreas_sohns @naomigarcia
I use tools like SonarQube to continuously monitor code quality and address issues as they arise.
Not the best person to answer as I am a biz cofounder
But we agreed on something like that
— you give smallest of f#cks about tech debt for first iteration
— give someone to use
— everyone says its sh#t
— you make tweaks
— someone did few clicks in app
— other person paid a buck
— you remember about debt
— start cleaning
For most of our journey, we had tech issues and no one to discover them. That's a hard truth
So we had to experiment and push a lot to get at least someone to notice mistakes and staff
I keep a technical debt backlog and tackle it incrementally, which prevents it from becoming overwhelming.
I’ve convinced stakeholders by showing how technical debt can slow down future development and increase costs.
I encourage regular knowledge sharing sessions to discuss and address technical debt as a team.
I set up a reward system for developers who effectively manage and reduce technical debt.
I regularly review and update our coding standards to prevent new technical debt from accumulating.
I find that documenting the impact of technical debt on project timelines helps in making a case for addressing it.
I incorporate technical debt metrics into our project management tools to keep it visible and prioritized.
Hey @erkam_bozan! 😄 Great topic! Balancing technical debt while pushing for speedy innovation is such a fine line. In my experience, one effective strategy is to allocate a specific percentage of each sprint to address technical debt. This way, it becomes part of the regular workflow rather than an afterthought. Also, creating a transparent tech debt log helps in tracking and prioritizing. Communication is key; showing stakeholders how reducing tech debt can lead to long-term gains often helps get their buy-in. How have you been managing it in your projects? Looking forward to hearing more insights! 🚀✨
I prioritize code reviews and automated testing to keep technical debt in check while maintaining speed. It helps catch issues early.
Managing technical debt in startups is like finding the right balance between speed dating and long-term commitment – quick wins are exhilarating, but sustainable relationships (and codebases) require some TLC. How do you keep the spark alive while tidying up behind the scenes?