The human cost of technical debt
Some time ago, I wrote about avoiding and reducing technical debt, where I explored Chelsea Troy’s concept of ‘maintenance load’. Her perspective frames technical debt not as abstract ‘bad code’, but as the concrete, ongoing effort required to keep software running. The focus was on practical strategies like improving documentation, testing, and empowering developers to streamline the codebase.
That post centred on the technical and process-related aspects of the problem. However, a recent article from the Research-Driven Engineering Leadership newsletter adds another dimension to this discussion: the human side.
The research highlighted in the article shows a direct link between technical debt and developer morale. It is not just about slowing down development cycles; it actively reduces developers’ confidence and makes them feel their progress is hindered.
This connects directly to the idea of ‘maintenance load’. When developers constantly battle a high maintenance load, they are the ones who experience the ‘wasted time’ the research mentions. This feeling of running in place, fixing the same types of issues, or struggling with poorly documented code is a significant drain on motivation.
These two perspectives reinforce each other. The solutions Chelsea Troy proposes—valuing documentation, empowering developers to refactor, and forcing features to earn their keep—are not just good technical practices. They are, in fact, immediately positively influencing the morale issues identified in the research. By giving developers the tools and time to reduce maintenance load, we directly improve their sense of progress and confidence.
This reinforces the idea that managing technical debt is a core leadership responsibility. It is not merely a technical chore to be relegated to a backlog. It is an ongoing investment in the health of our systems and in the well-being and productivity of teams. Addressing the technical side has a direct, positive impact on the human side.
