I like to think of technical debt with a counter balance of a “credit score”. Ie: as an organization, what is our ability and track record to manage complexity

I like to think of technical debt with a counter balance of a “credit score”. Ie: as an organization, what is our ability and track record to manage complexity over time. It’s not a perfect analogy, but the difference between a low interest rate mortgage and a high interest payday loan have parallels to the balance made in delivering software while limiting complexity. A developer that is a bit of a tornado, rapidly churning out new and exciting capabilities at the expense of reliability, brittleness, and complexity, will surely catch up with an organization sooner or later.