tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36118108.post1141874363768205005..comments2023-12-06T00:17:28.519-08:00Comments on Creative Chaos: Technical Debt II.5 -Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05956714498778698672noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36118108.post-86110844635764550812007-10-24T23:13:00.000-07:002007-10-24T23:13:00.000-07:00I think your distraction with managing bosses who ...I think your distraction with managing bosses who would pressure a software guy to incur technical debt is not good. You're taking a Dave Ramsey approach that "any debt is invariably wrong at all times."<BR/><BR/>Imagine the following scenario: twin brothers graduate from university and one goes to Jedi Co, and the other goes to Vader Works, two identical start-up companies. The first brother righteously ignores his boss, the salesman, the accountant and anyone else who says, "We need to ship something now!" As these contrived examples would have it, Jedi Co. goes bankrupt two weeks before his software is perfect. <BR/><BR/>Meanwhile, at Vader Works, the other brother has gone over to the dark side, put on his cowboy coder hat and thrown together a steaming pile of ugly code that is utterly unmaintainable, but it shipped on time. Vader Works stays in business and turns a profit.<BR/><BR/>Now, the second brother regrets going over to the dark side, tosses the Emperor into a conveniently located ventilation shaft, and unlike Anakin Skywalker, he survives the experience to take the helm of Vader Works. <BR/><BR/>He then proceeds to a funnel portion of the obscene profits his product is throwing off to fund refactoring that steaming pile into something that doesn't suck. Over time he pays his penance and repays all the technical debt he incurred during the start-up phase.<BR/><BR/>But, you say, he spent more money on development than if he'd "done it right the first time." True. He could not afford to do it right the first time, He could afford to do it fast. Something burdened with technical debt is no less salable in the short-term.<BR/><BR/>Debt in a business setting is a tool. Just as there are businesses who handle financial debt responsibly, we need technical organizations that handle technical debt responsibly. Just as finance guys clearly understand things like interest rates and compounding frequency, technical debt needs the same kind of characterization to guide decisions that are more enlightened than "just don't do it."Steve Polinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06095291939072131815noreply@blogger.com