Tech Debt: When to Pay it Off vs. Keep Building Fast?

When tech debt hinders scalability or maintenance, it's time to address it. Otherwise, prioritize speed to meet market demands.

There's no one - size - fits - all answer. If the tech debt starts to slow down development or causes frequent bugs, it's time to pay it off. But in the early, fast - growth phase, some debt might be acceptable. A good rule could be to allocate a small percentage of development time for debt reduction regularly. Also, consider the long - term cost of ignoring it.

Tech debt is inevitable in fast-paced development. The key is balancing speed with sustainability. Regularly assess if tech debt is causing major issues like performance bottlenecks or unmaintainable spaghetti code. If so, dedicate some sprints to refactoring and cleanup. But if things are running smoothly, keep focusing on shipping features. Proactively communicate tech debt implications to stakeholders so speed vs. quality tradeoffs are understood. Having some buffer time built into roadmaps also helps keep tech debt in check without sacrificing momentum.

If the tech debt is critical and impacts the user experience or scalability, it's time to clean it up. Otherwise, continue building quickly and address it later. It's about finding a balance between growth and maintenance.