Enable javascript in your browser for better experience. Need to know to enable it? Go here.
Close
Download
A blue background showing a tangled white line that becomes untangled and ends in a pink star
A blue background showing a tangled white line that becomes untangled and ends in a pink star

Is technical debt slowing down your organization?

Reports Back

Tech debt is a term widely used to describe an organization’s under-investment in the software it relies upon.

Types of technical debt

Image depicts the types of technical debt using a quadrant with Reckless and Prudent at each end of the horizontal line and Deliberate and Inadvertent at the each end of the vertical line. In a Reckless and Deliberate scenario, teams go for speed over quality without considering the downsides, a ‘Duct tape gamble’ often seen in startups and scaleups. In a Prudent and Deliberate scenario, reams take a considered and risk-based approach, debt is taken on with a realistic plan to pay it off. In a Reckless and Inadvertent scenario, inexperienced teams build up debt without realizing it, often the damage is done before the problem is spotted. Finally in Prudent and Inadvertent scenarios, adept teams accrue debt due to unseen mistakes but have the skills to fix it, this scenario is associated with learning and innovation.
Image depicts the types of technical debt using a quadrant with Reckless and Prudent at each end of the horizontal line and Deliberate and Inadvertent at the each end of the vertical line. In a Reckless and Deliberate scenario, teams go for speed over quality without considering the downsides, a ‘Duct tape gamble’ often seen in startups and scaleups. In a Prudent and Deliberate scenario, reams take a considered and risk-based approach, debt is taken on with a realistic plan to pay it off. In a Reckless and Inadvertent scenario, inexperienced teams build up debt without realizing it, often the damage is done before the problem is spotted. Finally in Prudent and Inadvertent scenarios, adept teams accrue debt due to unseen mistakes but have the skills to fix it, this scenario is associated with learning and innovation.

Five ways tech debt can compromise your business

Light blue background and a white icon depicting an unsatisfied customer

Customer experience

 

New features aren’t added as tech debt slows making basic changes, as well as innovation. Customers get frustrated when unexpected events cause systems to fail.

Purple background and a white icon depicting cost increase

Operational costs

 

Outdated tech causes delays and increases operational costs. Outage responses and remediation incur costs. Productivity and engineering effectiveness suffer.

Pink background and a white icon depicting revenue loss

Revenue leakage

 

Manual processes, quick fixes and human error rise with tech debt. Customer data gets siloed in different systems, making it harder to leverage insights.

 

Green background with a white icon depicting a group of people

Talent retention

 

Developers generally don’t want to spend their careers maintaining broken systems. Less tech debt means your talent is driving value instead.

 

Yellow background with a white thumbs down icon

Brand reputation

 

Outages dent reputations, as does an inability to innovate at speed. Tech debt also reduces resilience to cyber attacks and data leaks.

Tackling tech debt

Grey background, icon depicting a screen with code

Listen to your developers.
They are up close to day-to-day tech debt problems and the broader risks

Grey background, icon depicting people

Listen to your customers. 
Glitches they find may signal deeper problems, make leadership aware

Grey background, icon depicting a graph with a growing trend

Watch for rising costs and delays. Tech debt can be an underlying cause, or exacerbate them

Grey background, icon depicting a bar chart

Measure it. Deployment lag and longer developer onboarding times can be indicators

Grey background, icon depicting a tablet screen with a check

Prioritize based on risk. 
A forum for business and tech leaders to discuss will help

Grey background, icon depicting a hand holding a star

Empower engineering teams.
Trust them to fix problems and stop new ones

Grey background, icon depicting a virtuous circle

Culture of continuous improvement. Approach code and dev support with the right mindset

Grey background, icon depicting two arrows pointing up

Align your business and tech strategies. Disconnect drives tech debt, alignment brings efficiencies

Start managing your tech debt

Contact us