In the world of software development, technical debts often conjures fear and anxiety among teams. However, in this conference talk we will challenge this prevailing sentiment and shed light on why embracing technical debt can be a strategic and essential aspect of successful software development projects.

Through years of experience, it has become evident that technical debts are an inherent part of any software development project. The longer a project exists, the more critical these debts become, especially if they are not addressed properly. In management roles the understanding and awareness of technical debt often lag behind. New features and functionalities frequently take precedence over addressing technical debt, leading to a cycle of neglect that can be harmful in the long run. As a consequence this may dramatically slow down the speed of the software development process and thus has direct impact on business goals and time to market.

Technical debt is not a monolithic entity but rather a multifaceted challenge. Some technical debts are consciously incurred during the implementation phase, often as shortcuts to meet tight deadlines or resource constraints. Others, however, evolve gradually and imperceptibly, lurking in the background until they reach a critical point.

As Robert C. Martin stated: “The only way to go fast is to go well.”, similarly, dealing with technical debts requires a shift in perspective – one that involves embracing and managing them rather than avoiding or fighting against them. In this talk, we will delve into the best practices and strategies we have employed in our projects to address both the obvious and the subtle technical debts.

We will dig into examples such as:

• fixed quality improvement budgets
• development tech talks
• code quality gates
• continuous dependency management and vulnerability scanning
• agreed definition of done

We will talk about the value of acknowledging and incorporating technical debt management into the software development process. We will discuss how proactive identification, prioritization, and resolution of technical debt can lead to increased project velocity, reduced maintenance costs, and improved overall software quality.

By learning to embrace tech debts and integrate them into project management and daily software development business, you can pave the way for faster, more efficient, and sustainable software development practices.

Dirk Kröhan is Software Architect working at QAware GmbH in Mainz, Germany. With over ten years in the field, he has a strong background in handling big projects that use agile methods. Dirk is passionate about designing solid software structures and enjoys building systems that work on the cloud. He focuses on making things work better and introducing new technology in software development.