Technical Debt Management: Prioritize Bug Fixes, Patches 🐞

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Hey Impactful PM! It’s Aneesha :)

Technical debts are like that pile of laundry you keep shoving in the corner of the room. It might disappear for a while but eventually, topple down on you 💀.

Tech debts are often a result of rapid development cycles. Faster releases mean quicker wins, happier customers, and a competitive edge.

Ignoring it can lead to a product with bugs, sluggish performance, and a development team perpetually fighting uphill battles. That’s a big no ❌.

So, how do you manage technical debt in a fast-paced environment? Let’s learn!

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What is a Technical Debt? ⚙️

Technical debt originates from software development.

A tech debt refers to the accumulation of design flaws and code shortcuts that are taken to expedite development.

It's like taking out a loan to deliver features quickly - you get something now, but you pay the interest (fixing the bugs, or issues) later.

What is a technical debt for a product manager?

Like any other debt in this world, technical debt has its fair share of benefits and burdens.

• Short-term benefit: Meeting deadlines and getting features out the door quickly can be attractive. It keeps stakeholders happy and users engaged with new functionalities.

• Long-term burden: However, those shortcuts and design flaws come back to haunt you later. Technical debt can lead to:

  • Slower development: Fixing messy code takes time, slowing down the development of new features.

  • Buggy product: Unforeseen issues and glitches can arise due to technical debt, frustrating users.

  • Higher maintenance costs: A codebase riddled with technical debt is expensive to maintain and update.

How to Manage Tech Debts in Fast-Paced Development Cycles? 🔄 

Managing tech debts isn’t an easy job. As a product manager who is involved in the technical side of product development (like software PMs and Technical PMs), you might need some help doing it right.

1. Prioritize, priority, prioritize 🎯

Prioritization isn't just about features; it's about the health of your codebase. Here are 2 simple ways to prioritize bug fixes or patches that have contributed to the debt:

• Identify and Understand: 
  
  Not all technical debt is equal. Categorize debt based on severity and impact. Critical bugs that cripple functionality or security vulnerabilities need immediate attention. On the other hand, cosmetic code issues might be a lower priority.
  

• Data-Driven Decisions: 
  
  Leverage metrics to objectively assess debt's impact. Are bugs causing a spike in user churn? Is slow performance leading to missed conversions? Quantify the problem to make a strong case for prioritizing fixes.

2. Allocate Resources ⚖️

Fast doesn't mean reckless. Here's how to allocate resources effectively:

• Build a Tech Debt Team: 
  
  If you have a lot of tech debts, establish a dedicated team (even if it's just a few developers) tasked with identifying, tracking, and addressing accumulated (and previously de-prioritized) fixes or improvements. This team can review code, create test plans, and prioritize fixes based on your defined criteria.
  

• Refactor Sprints: 
  
  Schedule regular "refactoring sprints" dedicated solely to tackling technical debt. This ensures that debt repayment doesn't become an afterthought squeezed into overloaded development cycles.

3. Automation 🤖

Automation is a game-changer in managing technical debt:

• Automated Testing: 
  
  Implement a robust automated testing suite that catches regressions and bugs early. The faster you identify issues, the less technical debt accumulates. Tools like JUnit (Java) or pytest (Python) can streamline this process.
  

• Static Code Analysis: 
  
  Use static code analysis tools like SonarQube or ESLint to identify potential issues like code smells and security vulnerabilities before they become full-blown problems.
  

• Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD): 
  
  Implement a CI/CD pipeline that automatically builds, tests, and deploys code. This allows you to catch the risk early and prevent it from being pushed to production.

4. Communication 🗣️ 

Technical debt management isn't a solo act. Foster a culture of transparency and communication:

• Transparency: 
  
  Make technical debt visible. Track debt metrics and communicate the impact to stakeholders. This fosters team buy-in for prioritizing debt repayment.
  

• Code Reviews and Pair Programming: 
  
  Regular code reviews help identify potential issues early and promote knowledge sharing. Pair programming allows senior developers to mentor junior team members and instill best practices that minimize technical debt creation.

5. Building for Long-Term 🏗️

Remember, rapid development shouldn't come at the expense of long-term maintainability:

• Invest in Clean Code: Write clean, well-documented, and modular code from the outset. This minimizes rework and reduces the creation of new technical debt. Tools like linters and code formatters can help enforce coding standards.

• Technical Debt Budget: Allocate a portion of your development budget specifically for technical debt repayment. This ensures that you consistently invest in maintaining a healthy codebase.

Key Takeaways for Product Managers

• Technical debt is like a loan: You get features out fast, but you accrue a debt of future bugs, slow development, and high maintenance costs.

• Prioritize wisely: Balance the need for speed with the importance of clean, maintainable code. Don't be afraid to push for long-term quality.

• Communication is key: Collaborate with your development team to understand the trade-offs involved in technical debt.

• Be proactive: Allocate resources for fixing existing debt and establish practices to prevent new debt from building up.

• Good code, happy users: A well-maintained codebase leads to a smoother development process, a more reliable product, and ultimately, satisfied users.

That’s all for today !

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Cya!
Aneesha ❤️ 

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• Areesha Shaikh

• Aneesha S

• Twice the Impact PM