Your team is divided on managing technical debt. How do you lead them towards a unified approach?

Firstly, Its essential to understand and assess the impact/effect of the technical debt and try brainstorming on creating ways to lessen the impact and gradually eliminating them. Interactive sessions related to this will be really helpful and open communication is essential in these cases. Evaluating risks associated beforehand is a good practice as well.

En muchas ocasiones usamos una herramienta por mucho tiempo y pensamos que no hay más allá, es importante considerar que, así como los datos van creciendo, tiene que crecer nuestra capacidad de manejarlos. Soñar con nuevas soluciones y anticiparnos a lo que podría venir, nos prepara para poder brindar una entrega rápida y con calidad.

It's crucial to discern that while some technical debt facilitates rapid delivery, excessive or unmanaged debt can impede system performance and scalability over time. Educating the team about technical debt is paramount; understanding its sources, implications, and trade-offs is essential for making informed decisions. Regular reviews and mitigation strategies ensure that technical debt remains controlled and beneficial rather than detrimental to project outcomes.

To unify one’s team on managing technical debt, start by ensuring everyone understands its definition and impact on long-term productivity through clear examples. Next, collaboratively identify and document areas of technical debt, then prioritize them based on their impact on the project. Finally, integrate technical debt resolution into regular sprint cycles, treating it as a fundamental part of the development process rather than an afterthought.

Ein wichtiger Punkt im Berufsbild des Data Engineering wird manchmal übersehen. Wir müssen gut kommunizieren können.  Wir müssen verstehen, was der Kunde möchte, was die Daten beinhalten, was das Dashboard-Team benötigt usw. Technische Schulden entstehen gerne, wenn man kurzfristige Lösungen implementiert, durch die alle erstmals glücklich sind. Die Performance, Lesbarkeit des Codes und die Dokumentation leiden dann natürlich. Der letzte Monat war eine Ausnahme. Fast alle haben eine bekommen und vier haben zwei bekommen.

You assess the impact of technical debt by evaluating the time needed to fix it, its severity on system performance and stability, and the frequency of related issues. Consider how the debt affects team productivity and project goals, using metrics and historical data. Regular reviews and team feedback provide further insights into the most critical areas to address.

In order to manage technical liability properly, it is necessary to evaluate the effect it may have on both current and future projects, this implies assessing prospective dangers and expenses that come with it. For instance, a temporary fix in data pipeline may work well for one-off ventures but bring about serious problems in permanent huge ones.

Erstmals sollte man verstehen, welches Problem die technischen Schulden gelöst haben. Häufig handelt es sich um minimalistische Lösungen für wichtige Probleme. Sobald man das verstanden hat, kann man Risiken angehen.

Gerenciar a dívida técnica eficazmente exige uma avaliação detalhada de seus impactos a curto e longo prazo. É essencial que a equipe compreenda os riscos e custos potenciais associados a soluções temporárias, especialmente em sistemas que precisam escalar no futuro. Incentivar uma abordagem que equilibre as necessidades imediatas com a manutenção da qualidade a longo prazo é fundamental. Priorizar a resolução da dívida técnica conforme sua gravidade ajuda a evitar problemas maiores e mantém a saúde e a eficiência dos projetos.

Priorizar es la clave, tomarse un tiempo con el equipo al inicio de un proyecto y organizar por criticidad cada evento, podría evitar que se emplee tiempo en actividades que no son importantes en el momento, en mi experiencia, esto junto con una buena comunicación hace las cosas marchen de buena manera.

Once the team has a clear understanding of the technical debt's impact, the next step is to prioritize its repayment. Not all debt needs to be addressed immediately; some can be deferred, while critical issues that threaten project integrity or performance should be tackled as soon as possible. A systematic approach, such as the debt quadrant, can be used to categorize and prioritize the repayment based on urgency and importance.

Bei dem Auflösen der technischen Schulden komme ich auf Punkt 1 zurück. Kommunikation. Sprechen Sie mit allen Betroffenen. Was soll die langfristige Lösung können? Welche Sonderfälle müssen sie abfangen? Performance, Nachhaltigkeit und Dokumentation müssen jetzt berücksichtigt werden.

Depois de entender o impacto da dívida técnica, é crucial definir prioridades para sua resolução. Nem todas as dívidas precisam ser pagas de imediato; algumas podem esperar, enquanto problemas críticos que ameaçam o projeto devem ser tratados com urgência. Utilizar uma abordagem estruturada, como o quadrante da dívida, ajuda a categorizar e determinar a ordem de pagamento com base na urgência e importância. Essa estratégia garante que os recursos sejam direcionados para resolver as questões mais impactantes primeiro, mantendo a integridade e o desempenho do projeto.

I would create the plan by first assessing the impact of the technical debt, evaluating factors such as the time needed to fix it, its severity on system performance, and the frequency of related issues. Then, I would prioritize the debt repayment using a systematic approach, like the debt quadrant, categorizing items based on urgency and importance. Finally, I would integrate the repayment tasks into regular sprint cycles, ensuring they are treated as a fundamental part of the development process.

Once you have established the order of tasks, you must devise a lucid schedule to settle the technical debts. These must entail particular assignments and deadlines accompanied with duties for various individuals. For that reason, it is important to blend it with the common development calendars so as not make it just an after thought.

This paragraph effectively outlines the essential steps for creating a robust plan to manage technical debt. By emphasizing the need for specific tasks, deadlines, and assigned responsibilities, it ensures that the plan is actionable and clear. Integrating the plan with the regular development schedule highlights the importance of treating debt management as an ongoing process rather than a one-time fix. The suggestion to regularly review and adjust the plan acknowledges the dynamic nature of projects and the inevitability of new debt, promoting a flexible and responsive approach to technical debt management. Overall, the paragraph provides a comprehensive and practical strategy for maintaining system integrity and performance.

Sobald Sie mit allen Betroffenen gesprochen haben, sollten Sie eine Idee haben, was gebraucht wird. Jetzt müssen alle Bausteine aufgeschrieben werden. Am besten erstellt man eine Visualisierung der Lösung in der Dokumentation und schreibt auf, was man Schritt für Schritt machen wird.

Para gerenciar a dívida técnica de forma eficaz, é fundamental criar um plano estratégico que defina claramente os próximos passos e aloque recursos de maneira adequada. Em vez de tratar a dívida técnica como um item secundário, o plano deve ser integrado ao fluxo de trabalho habitual, garantindo que a resolução não seja negligenciada. Ajustes regulares no plano ajudam a manter a flexibilidade, permitindo que o time responda a novos desafios e alterações nas prioridades, e assim mantenha o desenvolvimento eficiente e a qualidade do produto.

As a data engineer, I've navigated the challenges of managing technical debt by advocating for a balanced approach within my team. By emphasizing the actual repayment of technical debt through activities like code refactoring, documentation updates, and system upgrades, I underscored the importance of allocating dedicated time and resources. Encouraging the team to adopt proactive solutions not only addressed immediate issues but also prevented future occurrences, fostering a culture where we prioritize both innovation and sustainable development practices to minimize accumulating new debt.

Dieser Schritt sollte einfach sein. Im Idealfall hat man bereits eine Mindmap. Man kennt alle betroffenen Stellen im Code und hat die Bedürfnisse des Teams im Plan berücksichtigt. Falls man sich hiermit schwertut, sollte man den Plan nochmals überarbeiten und bei Bedarf mehr kommunizieren.

To unify your team in managing technical debt, first ensure everyone understands its nature and long-term impact through educational sessions and concrete examples. Jointly assess the risks and costs of the current debt, prioritizing its repayment based on urgency and importance using a systematic framework. Create a clear plan that integrates debt repayment tasks with regular development, assigning responsibilities and setting deadlines. Implement solutions that address both immediate problems and prevent future debt. Finally, foster a culture of collaboration and open communication, conducting regular reviews to adjust the plan according to the project's changing needs.

-Regular Check-ins: Hold weekly meetings to review technical debt management. -Detailed Reports: Generate concise reports using tools like JIRA or Confluence to track repayment efforts and progress. -Visual Dashboards: Use dashboards in Datadog or Grafana for real-time tracking and visualization. -Accountability: Ensure team accountability through continuous monitoring with tools like Asana or Trello. -Insight Gathering: Analyze feedback using tools like Tableau to gauge strategy effectiveness. -Continuous Improvement: Celebrate wins, learn from setbacks, and refine your approach based on insights gathered from these tools

As a data engineer, I led my team towards a unified approach in managing technical debt by implementing structured monitoring mechanisms. We established regular meetings and utilized progress reports and dashboards to track our efforts in addressing accumulated technical debt. This approach fostered accountability within the team while offering insights into the effectiveness of our strategies. Celebrating successes and learning from setbacks became integral parts of our journey, enabling continuous improvement in our approach to handling technical debt.

Eventually, overlooking the advancement of technical debt management is very important. One can do this by holding usual meetings, giving progress reports, or using dashboards that monitor the progress in efforts of repaying. Besides ensuring accountability, watching helps to get some useful insights in the efficacy of your strategies.

In a development team I worked with, we had a legacy system with a significant buildup of technical debt due to quick fixes implemented under time pressure. We organized a workshop where all team members shared concrete examples of how this debt affected our daily productivity. Together, we prioritized critical areas and created an action plan, integrating debt resolution into our regular sprints. Through open communication and collaborative effort, we significantly reduced the technical debt, improving the system's stability and scalability. This experience highlighted the importance of addressing technical debt proactively and systematically.