How to avoid technical debt

We’ve all made this mistake. We want to move a project forward faster, so we hope for the best, ignoring the developer’s warning because, eh, we should be smart as a CEO or COO, right? Well… 

First, for those who don’t know, what is technical debt? It’s simply the accumulation of tasks you should have taken care of but didn’t. One common example of technical debt is refactoring a part of the code because your new kick-ass feature requires more than initially expected. Avoiding technical debt is quite simple. What’s more difficult is having the discipline to actually do it.

• First, trust your developers when they bring the technical debt conversation to the table.Second, accept that 25% of your development time will be spent handling technical debt.Third, re-read the first point regularly. 

The first point is hard, especially if you’ve been burned by developers in the past. I hear you. But now, you should be better at distinguishing when this happens. And honestly, when developers are trusted, there’s no more reason to lie to the boss, right? What’s your best advice for avoiding technical debt?