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Technical debt is like organizational debt. Organizational debt often gets you promoted, create a large department full of bad practices and you could become a

Technical debt is like organizational debt. Organizational debt often gets you promoted, create a large department full of bad practices and you could become a director. Is organizational or technical debt good for the company? No. Is it good for the individuals creating it? Oftentimes yes, they never have to pay it back, they get to hire someone to deal with the mess instead.

drcongo 4y ago
That's roughly how the tory party in the UK operates.
pimterry 4y ago
> Is organizational or technical debt good for the company? No. Is it good for the individuals creating it? Oftentimes yes While technical debt in itself is not a good thing, choosing to take on tech debt in return for delivering quicker (getting faster feedback/not investing in an implementation too early/not over-architecting before you have real-world impact) can certainly be the right choice for the organization as a whole. I don't buy the argument that tech debt is purely a selfish choice for personal benefit.
- Jensson 4y ago
  Can you be too thin? Yes, but most people have problem with eating too much, not too little. Same with technical and organizational debt, places taking on too little debt isn't a situation worth talking about since it is so rare. Much more likely people are motivating their poor choices since yes, in some cases it is worth taking out, but when you are already obese then eating another pie isn't going to help you stay healthy.
resters 4y ago
The parent got downvoted probably because of the cynical tone of the comment, but organizational / management debt is real just like tech debt. Hiring someone fresh out of college who has no experience to run an important part of a startup is a risky move that sometimes pays off and sometimes backfires. If startups were staffed only by experienced workers, some aspects would go more smoothly, but costs would be much higher. Arguably YC's value prop to downstream investors is its ability to find superb teams early and invest when doing so is cheap.

drcongo 4y ago

That's roughly how the tory party in the UK operates.

pimterry 4y ago

> Is organizational or technical debt good for the company? No. Is it good for the individuals creating it? Oftentimes yes While technical debt in itself is not a good thing, choosing to take on tech debt in return for delivering quicker (getting faster feedback/not investing in an implementation too early/not over-architecting before you have real-world impact) can certainly be the right choice for the organization as a whole. I don't buy the argument that tech debt is purely a selfish choice for personal benefit.

Jensson 4y ago
Can you be too thin? Yes, but most people have problem with eating too much, not too little. Same with technical and organizational debt, places taking on too little debt isn't a situation worth talking about since it is so rare. Much more likely people are motivating their poor choices since yes, in some cases it is worth taking out, but when you are already obese then eating another pie isn't going to help you stay healthy.

resters 4y ago

The parent got downvoted probably because of the cynical tone of the comment, but organizational / management debt is real just like tech debt. Hiring someone fresh out of college who has no experience to run an important part of a startup is a risky move that sometimes pays off and sometimes backfires. If startups were staffed only by experienced workers, some aspects would go more smoothly, but costs would be much higher. Arguably YC's value prop to downstream investors is its ability to find superb teams early and invest when doing so is cheap.