Ignite talk about Technical debt given on ZgPHP Meetup #46 http://www.meetup.com/ZgPHP-meetup/events/205929332/ Video: https://vimeo.com/131146231

1. Technical debt
TOMISLAV RAŠETA
@TRASETA

2. Debt
• I want to do or buy something but I have no money
• bank credit with yearly interest for n years
• monthly/quarterly/yearly payment plan
• do or buy now and return it later
• OK thing if you have an idea how to follow your payment plan

3. Technical Debt
• doing this quick and dirty way incurs technical debt
• this debt has to be paid back with interest
• smoking addiction – it’s very bad for you but you can’t stop
• same thing with technical debt

4. Bankruptcy
• too much debt leads to bankruptcy = spending more time
maintaining old quick’n’dirty stuff then doing actual new stuff
• real life example – ex-employee rumors from Netscape – too much
technical debt led to technical bankruptcy causing the need for
complete rewrite which caused, in the end, company closure

5. Kill it with fire
• if you have a feeling that you’re doing too much maintenance of old
stuff, don’t hesitate
• killing old stuff and starting clean can save you time and money

6. Business
• “I need this now”
• “This has to be done quickly”
• “Deliver it ASAP”
• “If it’s late, your bonus is in jeopardy”
• …

7. Project Manager
• ideally – successfully connecting business side with technical side
• real life – not so much
• big projects – technical manager?

8. Avoid bankruptcy
• refactor continuously (10% of your time?)
• go into debt if it’s justifiable
• paid it back when you can
• insist on following your “payment plan”
• start clean if you think that’s better (complete rewrite)

9. Collaborate and communicate
• don’t be afraid to speak out
• point out the benefits of doing things clean
• enjoy the fruits of your work later

10. Interest
• even small debt can become huge if you count in the interest

12. Awesome links
• Tomislav Car
• http://tomislavcar.com/tekstovi/2014/7/14/kako-se-utjeruje-tehnicki-dug
• Croatian only
• Jeff Attwood
• http://blog.codinghorror.com/paying-down-your-technical-debt/