Accumulated shortcuts.
WHAT IT IS
Work deferred, which makes future work slower.
WHERE IT COMES FROM
Deadlines Decisions that were reasonable then Dependencies left outdated Manual processes never automated
WHY IT MATTERS OPERATIONALLY
It slows every change, and it causes incidents.
WHAT TO TRACK
Known shortcuts, and what they cost.
WHAT TO PRIORITISE
Debt causing incidents Debt blocking work Debt in security
WHAT NOT TO PRIORITISE
Tidiness in code nobody touches.
WHAT TO DO ROUTINELY
Allocate a proportion of time to it.
WHY
Otherwise it is always deferred, and accumulates until a rewrite seems necessary.
WHAT MAKES IT VISIBLE
Recording it when it is created, rather than discovering it later.
WHAT TO ASK BEFORE TAKING A SHORTCUT
What will this cost later, and when will we address it?
WHAT TO RECORD
The shortcut, and the intention.
WHAT TO REVIEW
The list, quarterly.
WHAT TO ACCEPT
Some debt is never worth repaying.
