As we’ve illustrated in previous blog posts, technical debt is inevitable in the life of a company. But often companies plan to tackle issues without considering the long-term costs, especially when it comes to technical debt. Additionally, companies may rush a product to market without putting the necessary protocols in place to track and mitigate the resulting tech debt. This often happens with startups keen on outpacing their competitors.
But preventing tech debt will result in saved labor, time, and money for your company, allowing you to focus on your business goals, your product, and your mission. Staying ahead of tech debt will save you a three-month-long clean-up project after you’ve deployed your new product and need to untangle all of the messy code and poor documentation left in its wake.
There are multiple strategies that any company can implement to prevent tech debt. Not all of them will apply to your company, and you won’t be able to implement every single one of them anyway, at least not all at once. Which ones you choose will depend entirely on your company and its needs.
Create a shared definition of tech debt
Yes, there is an overarching definition of tech debt, but it affects every company slightly differently. The leadership of your company should agree on a set definition of tech debt, which will be informed by your company’s priorities and business goals. You’ll want to create a definition such that the strategies you come up with to reduce tech debt target the areas where your company is hit the hardest by it.
Treat tech debt as a business issue
Ownership and management of technical debt should be linked to profits and losses in the company’s overall business strategies. Track this debt as a tangible component of your business plan and yearly outcomes.
Create transparency across the tech debt journey
Each type of technical debt should be linked to the resources it requires and the purpose it serves, creating a trail from inception to consequences to resolution.
Formalize decision-making
IT and the company leadership should agree on a set of rules to follow when addressing tech debt, mitigating conflicts, and time lost on repeated points being made.
Dedicate resources to tackling tech debt
Once there is agreement around how to address tech debt, you should mobilize people, resources, and funds to put these solutions into practice with the mindset that tech debt is a priority going forward. There are different ways to do this; you can create a steering committee specifically to address tech debt overall, or you can assign specific people on each project team to analyze and mitigate tech debt.
Pay down debt consistently, not all at once
Trying to tackle all of your technical debt in one day is not a sustainable solution. Instead, set aside a portion of your IT budget for consistently mitigating and paying down debt over time. This will prevent the crippling buildup of debt and will allow your company to function outside of that sphere consistently.
Create an updated release schedule
This can be applied to any kind of software that your company is using, but for Salesforce, in particular, a regular monthly or quarterly release of new customizations will prevent overlap and allow for developers to consolidate and streamline updates effectively. This should be supplemented with regular cross-departmental meetings to keep track of everyone’s needs.
Reduce human intervention/error
Automating as many processes as possible reduces human error and makes changes in the company personnel smoother for everyone. You don’t want someone to leave a massive gap of unfinished updates, unique workflows, or hidden/inaccessible documents in their wake.
Again, don’t try and implement all of these strategies at once - you’ll end up just as, if not more overwhelmed than before. Simply taking ownership of your tech debt and starting to implement solutions are important steps for helping your business thrive.
If you’re interested in starting to pay down tech debt and create more effective solutions in your Salesforce CRM, we can help! Schedule a free consultation to chat with a certified Salesforce expert.
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