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There are some differences between “tech debt” and “debt”: Debt has to be serviced, and if it isn’t some asset is probably forfeited or you can be forced into

There are some differences between “tech debt” and “debt”: Debt has to be serviced, and if it isn’t some asset is probably forfeited or you can be forced into bankruptcy. Not so for tech debt. Debt is known for certain in a measurable quantity. Tech debt is not measurable and only exists to the extent people argue it exists. Two engineers may disagree in how much tech debt there is. Debt can be used to fund things with a clear nexus. I borrow $1m to buy a house. Tech debt is taking on often unknowingly or even as a result of software dependency upgrades (or cloud) that turn debt-free into debted software silently. There are probably plenty of other differences that make it a sort of half-applicable metaphor.

Avamander 4y ago
> Debt has to be serviced, and if it isn’t some asset is probably forfeited or you can be forced into bankruptcy. Not so for tech debt. It is so for tech debt though. If you keep on accumulating it, at some point it's gonna have very negative effects: a ransomware incident, data leak or even a total company-wide standstill.
- quickthrower2 4y ago
  Say you have a product, and you add no new features (you fix some bugs and patch for security). The interest payments are a lot less than if you are actively developing new features and therefore adding complexity. So it is dynamic in a way that normal debt isn’t. It can be worse than debt or not as bad depending on the nature of the debt and its consequences. If you have something written in OG Perl and and the messyness makes all your devs leave and you cant find anyone with skills that can be really bad! Although only if that product is your ownly source of revenue. Say like many small companies trying to make it big you have “bread and butter” product A and “next gen unicorn” product B. If B is far along and customers transitioning from A to B then tech debt on A is less expensive than if B is stalled and in a quagmire.

Avamander 4y ago

> Debt has to be serviced, and if it isn’t some asset is probably forfeited or you can be forced into bankruptcy. Not so for tech debt. It is so for tech debt though. If you keep on accumulating it, at some point it's gonna have very negative effects: a ransomware incident, data leak or even a total company-wide standstill.

quickthrower2 4y ago
Say you have a product, and you add no new features (you fix some bugs and patch for security). The interest payments are a lot less than if you are actively developing new features and therefore adding complexity. So it is dynamic in a way that normal debt isn’t. It can be worse than debt or not as bad depending on the nature of the debt and its consequences. If you have something written in OG Perl and and the messyness makes all your devs leave and you cant find anyone with skills that can be really bad! Although only if that product is your ownly source of revenue. Say like many small companies trying to make it big you have “bread and butter” product A and “next gen unicorn” product B. If B is far along and customers transitioning from A to B then tech debt on A is less expensive than if B is stalled and in a quagmire.