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Given that technical debt is quite hard for non-technical people to quantify, why wouldn't we expect that most startups would tend to accrue technical debt?
by stcredzero 8y ago
Given that technical debt is quite hard for non-technical people to quantify, why wouldn't we expect that most startups would tend to accrue technical debt?
- theseatoms 8y agoCan anyone quantify technical debt? Best case is something resembling a medical diagnosis.
- stcredzero 8y agoI think that could be enough. Actuaries have a good idea about when you are likely to die in the next two years. Basically, when you are old and your medical costs suddenly double. Doctors use the same sort of inductive reasoning for their prognosis. The industry probably collectively has all the information to put together useful actuarial tables on technical debt, but it's all silo'd in individual companies.
- theseatoms 8y agoInteresting. Are there IT consulting firms that specialize in this field of study?
- adrianN 8y agoStartups accrue so much financial debt, adding some technical debt on top doesn't really make a difference.
- stcredzero 8y agoTechnical debt doesn't accrue in a linear fashion. Instead, it's synergistic. Up to a certain point, it's a noticeable drag. Past that point, there is a change in the difficulty incurred. In the article, the combination of some "you're-supposed-to-just-not-do-that" with: >If (the database throws an error) { do nothing } resulted in a major mishap.