Technical Debt is the deferred cost of work not done at an earlier point in the product life cycle.
It results from shortcuts, trade-offs, or postponed improvements in code, design, or infrastructure that enable faster delivery in the short term but create future rework, risk, or reduced maintainability. Managing technical debt is essential to sustaining product quality and performance over time.
Key Characteristics
- Intentional or Unintentional – Can arise from deliberate decisions or lack of awareness
- Accumulates Over Time – Grows if not addressed during ongoing development
- Impacts Long-Term Quality – Affects scalability, reliability, and maintainability
- Requires Repayment – Must be resolved through refactoring, documentation, or redesign
Example Scenarios
- Skipping test coverage to meet a tight release deadline
- Hardcoding values instead of implementing configurable settings
- Deferring architecture improvements that would reduce system complexity
Role in Agile and Product Management
- Enables Speed-to-Market – Supports rapid delivery when managed deliberately
- Introduces Long-Term Risk – Increases complexity and potential defects
- Demands Transparency – Should be tracked in the backlog or technical logs
- Informs Prioritization – Balancing feature delivery with technical debt reduction improves sustainability
See also: Backlog, Definition of Done, Refactoring, Quality Management Plan, Risk Register.