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Tech debt rarely kills a company, but it does kill teams, in descending hierarchical order. It usually goes like this: Day 1 Stakeholder: "The app is d

Tech debt rarely kills a company, but it does kill teams, in descending hierarchical order. It usually goes like this: Day 1 Stakeholder: "The app is down, what is happening?" Engineering lead: "We are working on it. Do not worry". Day 2 Stakeholder: "The app is down, what is happening?" Engineering lead: "Do not worry, we got this". Fast forward to Day 15: Stakeholder: "Can you explain why the app is down again?" Engineering lead: "We got this" Stakeholder: "That is what you said last 2 weeks ago. We will send someone to take a look at it" External auditor: "wtf wtf wtf. These guys do not know what they're doing." Day 16: Stakeholder: "Say hello to Bob, he is your replacement. Please work with him making sure he has all the context he needs during this transition". Engineering lead: "But, but... it's just technical debt" Stakeholder: "You may leave now"

xwdv 6y ago
Why would the app be down that long though? Just take on more technical debt to get it back up and running. If Bob gets the app up and running then that’s all that matters to the stakeholder.
- 29athrowaway 6y ago
  It doesn't have to be continuously down. It only has to be down often.
  - yardstick 6y ago
    To the end users and management the two are essentially the same outcome: customers leave your non-functional service.
- daniellarusso 6y ago
  “It works for me.”
JamesBarney 6y ago
The engineering lead should be fired. If the problem is technical debt, he should do a proper post mortem and alert the stakeholder to what is required to solve the problem for good.
- 29athrowaway 6y ago
  Sounds like the reasonable thing to do. But some people are brainwashed to love tech debt: 1) Some people mistakenly interpret "maximizing the work not done" with maximizing tech debt. 2) Power is the ability to make people do what they do not want to do. Saying "no" is a way to exercise that ability. Some leaders become addicted to the feeling of exercising their power. 3) Cohesive groups of people tend to prioritize cohesion over rationality during decision making (i.e.: "groupthink"). Groupthink makes teams unable to make correct decisions or assess risks in a rational manner. Many startups suffer of issues 1, 2, 3. And some even perceive those weaknesses as strengths. When that happens, the only way out is to decapitate the team, punish groupthink and reindoctrinate the team members.

xwdv 6y ago

Why would the app be down that long though? Just take on more technical debt to get it back up and running. If Bob gets the app up and running then that’s all that matters to the stakeholder.

29athrowaway 6y ago
It doesn't have to be continuously down. It only has to be down often.
- yardstick 6y ago
  To the end users and management the two are essentially the same outcome: customers leave your non-functional service.
daniellarusso 6y ago
“It works for me.”

JamesBarney 6y ago

The engineering lead should be fired. If the problem is technical debt, he should do a proper post mortem and alert the stakeholder to what is required to solve the problem for good.

29athrowaway 6y ago
Sounds like the reasonable thing to do. But some people are brainwashed to love tech debt: 1) Some people mistakenly interpret "maximizing the work not done" with maximizing tech debt. 2) Power is the ability to make people do what they do not want to do. Saying "no" is a way to exercise that ability. Some leaders become addicted to the feeling of exercising their power. 3) Cohesive groups of people tend to prioritize cohesion over rationality during decision making (i.e.: "groupthink"). Groupthink makes teams unable to make correct decisions or assess risks in a rational manner. Many startups suffer of issues 1, 2, 3. And some even perceive those weaknesses as strengths. When that happens, the only way out is to decapitate the team, punish groupthink and reindoctrinate the team members.