You're juggling technical debt and project timelines. How do you ensure new features don't get delayed?

In software engineering, balancing the need to address technical debt with the urgency of delivering new features is a common challenge. Technical debt refers to the implied cost of additional rework caused by choosing an easy solution now instead of using a better approach that would take longer. When deadlines loom, the temptation to cut corners can increase, leading to more technical debt and potentially causing delays in future feature releases. To ensure new features don't get delayed by technical debt, it's crucial to adopt strategies that balance short-term productivity with long-term code health.

1 Prioritize Wisely

Effective prioritization is key to managing technical debt while keeping project timelines on track. Start by evaluating the impact of the debt versus the value of new features. Some debt might be tolerable for a while if it doesn't impede progress, whereas other debt could quickly spiral out of control. Use a prioritization matrix to assess and rank tasks based on urgency and importance. This will help you focus on what's critical, allowing you to allocate resources efficiently and ensure that essential new features are not sidelined by less significant technical issues.

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Dmitry Yanter

VP at Technology, Data and Innovation Deutsche Bank
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Yesterday's new feature is today's bug and tomorrow's technical debt. It is more a question of project metrics - how many bugs are introduced and how long features live.

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2 Agile Practices

Incorporating Agile methodologies can help you address technical debt without derailing new feature development. Agile practices, such as iterative development and regular retrospectives, encourage continuous improvement and frequent reassessment of priorities. By breaking down projects into smaller, manageable chunks, you can intersperse debt reduction tasks with new feature work. This approach ensures that you're constantly making progress on both fronts, preventing technical debt from accumulating to a point where it significantly impacts your ability to deliver new features on time.

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3 Automated Testing

Automated testing is a powerful tool in ensuring new features are not delayed by technical debt. By implementing a robust suite of automated tests, you can catch and address issues early in the development cycle, reducing the likelihood of last-minute surprises that can push back release dates. Tests also serve as a safety net when refactoring code to pay down technical debt, giving you the confidence to make necessary changes without fear of breaking existing functionality. This proactive approach to quality assurance helps maintain a steady pace of feature development.

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4 Tech Debt Sprints

Dedicating specific sprints to tackle technical debt can help keep your project timeline intact while ensuring the codebase remains healthy. These "tech debt sprints" are periods where the team focuses solely on improving code quality and addressing issues that could slow down future development. By planning for these sprints in your project schedule, you ensure that technical debt is managed systematically rather than in an ad hoc manner, which can often lead to feature delays.

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Dmitry Yanter

VP at Technology, Data and Innovation Deutsche Bank
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Like machinery software systems tend to "rust". With this in mind, there are 3+1 strategies. The main three are fix on fail, fix before fail, fail and don't care. The bonus one is decom before fail. Tech debt sprints allow to implement the first and the bonus ones.

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5 Refactoring Strategy

Refactoring, the process of restructuring existing code without changing its external behavior, is essential for managing technical debt. However, it's important to have a strategy in place. Rather than large-scale refactoring projects that can disrupt your timeline, opt for incremental refactoring. This means improving the codebase little by little with each new feature development cycle. By integrating refactoring into your regular workflow, you can continuously improve code quality without significant impact on your delivery schedule.

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6 Communication Is Key

Clear communication across your team is vital when juggling technical debt and project timelines. Ensure everyone understands the importance of addressing technical debt and how it fits into the overall project goals. Regularly discuss the status of technical debt and its impact on new feature development during team meetings. This transparency helps align team efforts and ensures that decisions about when to address technical debt are made collaboratively, with a shared understanding of the trade-offs involved.

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7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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You're juggling technical debt and project timelines. How do you ensure new features don't get delayed?

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1 Prioritize Wisely

2 Agile Practices

3 Automated Testing

4 Tech Debt Sprints

5 Refactoring Strategy

6 Communication Is Key

7 Here’s what else to consider

Software Engineering

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