Dispatch #11/23
Hey, welcome to our dispatch!
Our topic this time is tech modernization and technical debt. That is important for several reasons:
It allows organizations to keep up with changing technologies and evolving customer demands. It enables them to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and increase productivity. Modernizing technology also allows organizations to stay competitive by providing better products and services to their customers.
Outdated technology can pose security risks, which can be mitigated through modernization efforts.
By keeping technology up-to-date, organizations can also attract and retain top talent, who are often more likely to work for companies with modern and cutting-edge technology.
Tech modernization often involves reducing technical debt, which is the accumulation of outdated or inefficient technology that can hinder progress and productivity.
A short explanation for non-coders. Technical debt is a metaphorical concept that refers to the implied cost or consequences of taking shortcuts in software development, such as writing bad code, delaying software updates, or not fixing bugs. These shortcuts might save time and money in the short term, but they can lead to increased costs and complexity in the long term, making it harder to maintain and update the software. Technical debt can accumulate over time and negatively affect the software's performance, stability, and scalability, leading to slower development and higher costs.
I am sharing some resources with you regarding technical debt and modernization.
Here are some links we found interesting regarding this topic:
Article: If you're interested in learning how to manage technical debt and prioritize paying it down while maintaining development velocity, this article on The Importance of Leverage is a must-read. https://www.maxcountryman.com/articles/a-framework-for-prioritizing-tech-debt
Podcast: With this podcast, we learn who's in charge of it, how it's similar to ways we leverage financial debt, and how Squarespace uses tech debt to drive product development. https://changelog.com/podcast/379
Article: Learn about "tech debt" and how to use it intentionally in software engineering projects to achieve success, with examples of how scaffolding and hardcoding things can help to fill in dependencies and save time. https://engineering.squarespace.com/blog/2019/three-kinds-of-good-tech-debt
Article: This article explains the Architecture Modernization Enabling Team (AMET) pattern that can effectively help approach architecture modernization initiatives and architecture practices in an organization, providing six primary purposes to address six recurrent modernization challenges, with practical examples and diagrams. https://esilva.net/articles/architecture-modernization-enabling-team
Where we need help:
What tool do you use to make technical debt transparent?
Is your team actively managing technical debt or reacting when it's "enough"?
How do you drive ongoing tech modernization in your company?
I hope you find these resources helpful in your work. We would like to hear from you; write us a comment or mail!
Regards, Florian
hoeppnerflorian@gmail.com
www.TechAccelerationAndResilience.com
Published weekly in a row: 11