I only use the term "Tech Debt" among engineering team. For communicating to a broader audience, I use: "Improve product, engineering, and operational excellen

I only use the term "Tech Debt" among engineering team. For communicating to a broader audience, I use: "Improve product, engineering, and operational excellence". The idea is that the broader audience focus is on the overall benefits and costs, not on whether we have debt. This phrase also allows me to make process changes that improves the team's efficiency outside of Tech Debt.