Debt is an unpleasant thing, and when it starts gathering in your project code, you have to confront with problems more than one. It is like the dust that gathers under your bed and accumulates if you do not dust it regularly. Just like attacking the dust gathered under your bed suddenly with a broom would aggravate the situation; it is the same in the case of dealing with technical debt in your project code. Accumulation of such technical debts in code is simply the result of a shoddy construction with faulty code design due to deliberate shortcuts implemented by the developers to meet the demand from the management.
Tech Debt Is Complex
In a layman’s language, technical debt is the deliverance of a project which is not on par with what was expected of it to deliver during its release. It is a metaphor which is complex and quite difficult to identify, discover the underlying cause, rework on it to rectify it. All of these requires a lot of expertise, use of automated tools and most importantly, time so that it can operate in the best possible way as desired by the stakeholders. During this period it would not be used producing no result which is called the technical debt. When it is left unattended, then such debt accumulates, and your company suffers the risk of premature death.
It Simply Defers Work
Tech debt is a deferred work which is done on an existing code with the primary objective of rectifying all the defects that may exist so that you can eliminate any further accruals. It is certainly not producing any new functionality or a new code but just some amendments and alterations to improve the performance and ability. It is simply a quality maintenance job which requires the developing team to work on limiting their focus on newer and better projects, resulting in further technical debt.
Ignorance Is Not Bliss
Trying to ignore tech debt would have the same consequence as any of your financial debt would have on your financial health. When you have multiple financial loans and have problems in paying them off but are desperate to revive your financial status, you do so by consolidation loan and paying on a priority basis. A similar process should be followed to manage tech debt as well, but the primary objective is to get rid of the black hole of technical debt. Therefore, you should keep a check on your code quality using different testing tools so as to know the right time and amount you need to pay back.
Comprehensive Tests Required
There are several lines of a code and out of all these lines may be one or two sections have a defect which a developer has to identify and address to rectify and keep the code fully functional. The comprehensive test should always be done to know the existence of any defects. When the code class reaches thousands of lines, then it enters into design death status. Such codes are a part of a legacy system or core when it becomes impossible to isolate a single component.