Software Process And Measurement Cast

Software Process and Measurement Cast number 301 features our essay on technical debt. Technical debt is the work not done or the shortcuts taken when delivering a product. We all take shortcuts, but at what cost? The essay begins: Technical debt is a term coined by Ward Cunningham to represent the work not done or the shortcuts taken when delivering a product. In almost every circumstance there are multiple paths than can be taken to deliver a functional product.  For example, when documenting the code you are writing there is a difference between explaining exactly what the code does in detail and being terse and a bit oblique (I can hear the rationalization, “they can just read the code”). The code runs, but if there is ever a problem it will take longer to diagnose the problem. Whether fixing a defect or rewriting the code, if there is a delay caused by figuring out the code, that represents the 'debt' of technical debt.  Technical debt is applied to software, but the phrase can be extended to any deliver