The accumulated cost of additional work caused by choosing quick, expedient solutions instead of better approaches that would take longer to implement. Technical debt represents the implied cost of future refactoring required when code is written in a way that prioritizes short-term delivery over long-term maintainability.

Types and Impact

Technical debt can manifest as poorly structured code, outdated dependencies, inadequate documentation, or missing automated tests. While taking on technical debt can accelerate initial development, it typically slows down future development efforts and increases the risk of bugs and system failures.

Managing Technical Debt

Effective technical debt management involves regularly assessing code quality, prioritizing refactoring efforts, and balancing new feature development with maintenance activities. Teams should track technical debt as part of their project planning and allocate dedicated time for addressing accumulated debt to prevent it from becoming unmanageable.