Technical debt is the implied cost of additional rework caused by choosing an easy (limited) solution now instead of using a better approach that would take longer. Like financial debt, it accumulates 'interest' over time, making future changes increasingly expensive and risky.
Types of Technical Debt
Not all technical debt is created equal. Understanding different types helps prioritize elimination efforts.
types
Identifying Technical Debt
Early identification prevents technical debt from becoming technical bankruptcy.
indicators
- • Cyclomatic complexity > 10
- • Code duplication > 5%
- • Test coverage < 70%
- • Long methods (> 50 lines)
- • Deep nesting (> 4 levels)
- • SonarQube
- • CodeClimate
- • ESLint
- • PMD
- • Increasing time for simple features
- • More bugs per release
- • Longer code review cycles
- • Afraid to touch certain code
- • Frequent production hotfixes
- • "We need to rewrite this"
- • "Nobody understands this module"
- • "We can't upgrade because..."
- • "It works, don't touch it"
- • New developers take months to be productive
Measuring Technical Debt
Quantifying technical debt helps justify investment in elimination.
Prioritization Framework
Not all debt needs immediate attention. Use this framework to prioritize.
factors
Elimination Strategies
Systematic approach to paying down technical debt while delivering business value.
Boy Scout Rule
Debt Sprints
Refactoring Projects
Replacement Strategy
Leave code better than you found it
Dedicated sprints for debt reduction
Large-scale refactoring initiatives
Build new system, migrate gradually
Case Study
E-commerce Platform Reduces Debt by 70%
Client
Online Marketplace
Solution
Vibe Coding's Technical Debt Elimination Package
Results
Vibe Coding Technical Debt Solutions
Stop Paying Interest on Technical Debt
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