If you’re not already familiar with the concept of technical debt, it’s worth becoming familiar with it. I say this not only because it is a common industry term, but because it is an important concept.
Coined by Ward Cunningham, the term introduces the idea that taking shortcuts in your software today not only means paying the price eventually — it means paying that price with interest. In other words, introducing that global variable today and saving half a day’s work ahead of shipping means that you’re going to pay for it with more than half a day’s labor down the line.
The Power of the Metaphor
I’ve spent significant time doing IT management consulting in recent years, after spending years and years writing code. And I can tell you that this metaphor for shortcuts in the codebase is a powerful one when it comes to communication between the business and the software development group.
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