How to Prioritize Tech Debt: Strategies for Effective Management

Technical debt is a significant concern for companies, often costing 20% to 40% of their technology's value and adding considerable costs to development projects. There is no clear consensus on how much debt is too much, but various methods exist to assess and prioritize it, such as evaluating architectural debt, defect ratios, technical debt ratios, and code quality. Effective management of technical debt requires a strategy that balances reducing debt with maintaining current systems and developing new features, emphasizing continuous modernization and architectural observability. Automated tools can aid in this process by providing visibility and enabling teams to prioritize debt reduction efforts in line with business and technical priorities. The involvement of both architects and development teams is crucial in managing operational risks, maintenance costs, and innovation limitations, with the ultimate goal of integrating priority-setting strategies with continuous modernization models.