I stopped using the term 'technical debt' with non-technical people a long time ago to describe needing to maintain code. One guy even tried to convince me he was correct that the term is BS because, 'he heard from some other <unnamed> guy that technical debt is programmer BS code-speak for wanting to work on pet projects, and not what the business wants or needs.' And that he should ignore anyone who tries to tell him otherwise. Ignoring the fact that if development slowed to a crawl, basically the company would fold and we'd all be out of a job. Anyway.
I liken maintaining code to maintaining a car/engine.
The engine/pit crew analogy has worked well on more than a few occasions:
- We're trying to keep this thing running, right?
- We want it to run fast, and be impressive, right?
- We want to be able to corner quickly, right?
Well, when's the last time you had an oil change? If there's a bunch of gunk in the engine, and we're carrying this 1000lb load of sugar that that one customer asked us to carry, how fast do you think we can go?
If we tend to the engine, we can keep it running smoothly, if at all.
So, we have a choice:
Do we (a) take it to jiffy-lube once every 5 years, or never because who wants to invest in maintenance? and let that one kid who doesn't know what he's doing change the oil?
Or do we (b) let an experienced pit crew tune, monitor and clean the engine and tires regularly so we can fly around the track and win races and make lots of money?
You like cars, right? Hopefully you get it. You decide.
I liken maintaining code to maintaining a car/engine.
The engine/pit crew analogy has worked well on more than a few occasions: - We're trying to keep this thing running, right? - We want it to run fast, and be impressive, right? - We want to be able to corner quickly, right?
Well, when's the last time you had an oil change? If there's a bunch of gunk in the engine, and we're carrying this 1000lb load of sugar that that one customer asked us to carry, how fast do you think we can go?
If we tend to the engine, we can keep it running smoothly, if at all.
So, we have a choice: Do we (a) take it to jiffy-lube once every 5 years, or never because who wants to invest in maintenance? and let that one kid who doesn't know what he's doing change the oil? Or do we (b) let an experienced pit crew tune, monitor and clean the engine and tires regularly so we can fly around the track and win races and make lots of money?
You like cars, right? Hopefully you get it. You decide.