Is creating technical debt a good idea?

When organizations launch new products and services, they often create technical debt – the re-coding that must be done to digital systems after they have gone live. This can cause obstacles to progress, and additional costs.

In this interview with Stefan Sigg, CTO of Software AG, I asked him for some useful strategies for managing the challenges of technical debt.

BSS: Stefan, in 2021 many companies invested in a more connected working environment for their employees, better experiences for their customers and more efficient supply chains. Are they finished investing?

SS: It’s true that many companies started to become more connected in 2021, as they sped up digitalization due to the pandemic. But the boom is not over yet. In our survey with customers, we found that 78% of organizations expect their IT budget will be higher in 2022 than in 2021.

One of the many behaviors we see in truly digital companies is the commitment to a minimum viable product (MVP) approach.

BSS: Spotify started out as an MVP and Sheryl Sandberg is famed for saying “done is better than perfect.” Why is the idea of MVPs still attractive?

SS: MVPs do – and will continue to – enable companies to be more reactive to customer or employee needs, more alert to shifts in market conditions and more agile to opportunities that may be presented. However, the trade-off to this responsiveness is that MVPs create technical debt.

This will prompt a shift in the next couple of years in how companies approach their transformation. Some technical debt is inevitable and a benefit to those who embrace it, when managed correctly.

BSS: How do you define technical debt?

SS: At Software AG we define it as the additional re-coding that must be done to digital systems after they have gone live.

BSS: How many companies are affected by it?

SS: 78% of organizations have accrued more technical debt in the past year than in previous years. The encouraging news is that 82% of companies feel that they can assess some or all of it. Less encouraging: 58% don’t feel that they have a formal strategy in place to manage it. In a world where technical debt will be commonplace, companies need to have strategies for addressing it.

BSS: How can they address it?

SS: A good place to start is seeing how technical debt is affecting the business. Assess the whole digital landscape looking for bottlenecks or any parts of the infrastructure that are otherwise restricted. It won’t always be something that’s causing a major issue, but it will often be something that’s standing in the way of progress.

BSS: Like obstacles in the system’s architecture?

SS: Yes, sometimes. Architecture management tools can help to understand, from a platform or infrastructure level, which systems might negatively impact the whole organization. Perhaps they don’t integrate, they don’t handle certain types of data accurately or perhaps they’re simply very slow or overloaded by the volume of demand. These are typical signs that there is technical debt which needs to be resolved.

BSS: Other companies find it hard to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of individual systems or processes. Any recommendations for such cases?

SS: Process mining is useful. And the leading question is pretty straight forward: Are the desired outcomes being achieved, and in the most efficient way possible? This will help to identify if certain processes are being overloaded and whether the functionality exists for employees or customers to get what they need. These challenges are another indication of technical debt that needs to be cleared.

BSS: What do you think about digital twins to cope with technical debt?

SS: Making a digital twin of an organization (DTO) is a more thorough way to assess changes, allowing more informed decisions to be made. A DTO can be used to plan, test, and optimize new processes or systems, giving predictions based on a range of real-time and historic data sources. It’s a powerful tool for understanding the impact of technical debt and helping to prioritize managing it.

BSS: Organizations often struggle with growing complexity, with new strategies, new systems layered on top of old ones, and different technologies are stitched together. How can they respond?

SS: Managing this kind of technical debt is much trickier. I would ask back, in reverse: What if some of it could be avoided? Taking just a little more time in the initial design process to anticipate the future requirements of any given platform or app could help circumvent some of this costlier technical debt.

MVPs are naturally focused on the immediate task at hand, and that shouldn’t change. However, balancing considerations of resilience, such as how apps may need to integrate in the future, could avoid unexpected debt.

BSS: One way to reduce technical debt in MVPs is to try and reduce the amount of code that is produced for the first time and on your own. Do you agree?

SS: Of course! My advice is: Constantly evaluate whether certain parts of the stack are already available as a service from a specialist vendor. Companies that move away from a strict build-OR-buy model and rather go for a pragmatic build-AND-buy strategy, will not only reduce technical debt, but can also focus ‘own code’ development on capabilities that really are individual.

Viewing components that already exist on the market as a utility – and avoiding re-inventing the wheel – should be a consideration for every company.

BSS: When you look ahead: Is technical debt a useful practical strategy for 2022 and beyond?

SS: In our survey, 78% of organizations suggest that in 2022 fast-tracking the launch of new products and services will be a top or high priority for them. We already know that technical debt is an integral, if not essential, part of this process.

So, to answer the question: Yes, creating technical debt is a productive strategy that companies can use to become more responsive, capitalize on opportunities in the best way possible and continue to evolve their transformation. On the other hand, an effective strategy for managing it should include measures to minimize unexpected debt. That will enable companies to become truly connected and constantly turn their data into value.

Interested in technical debt and how to handle it? You can also see an interview about this with CEO Sanjay Brahmawar on Sky News, Ian King Live here.

Click below to see the full 2022 Situation Report survey and read Reality Check 2022.