> just working code that they don’t understand (maybe because all of the people that did understand it are now gone). Well in that case the real debt is the la

> just working code that they don’t understand (maybe because all of the people that did understand it are now gone). Well in that case the real debt is the lack of documentation or clarity in the code. If the code is not written in a way that someone other than the original author can easily understand it, that's a problem. It also indicates gaps in the process of transferring ownership. There should be a team of owners for each piece of code that brings new members up to speed when people leave. Knowledge mustn't leave the company when people leave.