Original episode: https://www.redhat.com/en/compiler-podcast/what-is-technical-debt?pfe-ngumm8p1n=show-notes

Hey guys, I’m back again to share another fantastic episode of the Compiler podcast, from Red Hat. As a reminder Compiler is a show hosted by tech veterans, discussing tech topics – big, strange and small.

On this particular episode – which is episode 4 – the team dives into the topic of technical debt, by first asking the question – what the heck is it? Its starts quite humorous, with the hosts slinging thoughts about financial debt and trying to bridge the gap there.

There definition comes down to this – technical debt is the cost of delaying necessary work on a project or platform, so that you can hit your milestones on time. Essentially, the cost of delivering new features as a priority over bug fixes or maintenance of a platform.

I think this is pretty accurate, but incomplete view of technical debt. I’d like to add my 2 cents to the definition. In my view, technical debt can also be inferior approach or framework decisions early on in the life of a piece of software, that you plan to uplevel, change or completely replace in the future. In the startup world, I find this to be the more commonly occurring form of technical debt, with the former definition occurring for more mature software solutions.

At any rate, this was a great discussion on technical debt. Have a listen to Episode 4, titled “Do we want a world without technical debt.” Be sure and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or your favorite podcast catcher. I’ll make sure and add a link to the show notes as well.

And as always… Enjoy.

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