Engineering

Technical debt is a product decision

Debt is a trade-off made under uncertainty. The dangerous part is forgetting the terms.

April 16, 2026 / 6 min read

Name the shortcut

Record what was simplified, why it was reasonable and which future condition would make it a constraint.

Connect debt to outcomes

Prioritise debt that slows delivery, harms reliability, raises security exposure or blocks an important product move. Aesthetic discomfort alone is not a business case.

Repay continuously

Reserve capacity for targeted improvements and fold cleanup into nearby feature work. Large rewrites should be the exception, backed by evidence.

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