How Engineering Leaders Can Make the Case for Prioritizing Technical Debt

Technical debt—two words that can make even the most seasoned engineering leaders groan. While it may not grab the same attention as shiny new features or the latest tech trend, ignoring technical debt can quietly, but surely, derail a project. The challenge? Convincing stakeholders who may not fully understand (or care about) its long-term impacts.

In this blog, we’ll walk you through how engineering leaders can effectively advocate for addressing technical debt, align stakeholders with the urgency, and build a compelling case. By the end, you’ll have a toolkit of strategies to bring technical debt to the forefront of your team’s priorities.

What is Technical Debt and Why Does It Matter?

Before diving into strategies, let’s cover the basics. Technical debt refers to the trade-offs made when quick fixes or shortcuts are used instead of sustainable solutions. While it might help meet short-term goals, it creates long-term costs in the form of:

• Slower development cycles
• Increased maintenance overhead
• Higher defect rates
• Decreased team morale

But here’s the catch—technical debt isn’t inherently “bad.” Sometimes, incurring it is strategic, especially when speed-to-market is critical. The real issue arises when it’s left unmanaged.

Why Stakeholders Overlook Technical Debt

Stakeholders, especially those outside of engineering, tend to deprioritize technical debt for a few reasons:

1. Lack of Visibility: Technical debt isn’t always obvious to non-technical team members. They don’t “see” the broken architecture or messy code.
2. Focus on Short-Term Goals: Revenue, deadlines, and customer-facing features often overshadow backend concerns.
3. Misunderstanding ROI: Many assume fixing technical debt won’t produce immediate, tangible results.

Your mission as an engineering leader? Bridge the gap and communicate why this invisible issue has very visible consequences.

How to Make the Case for Prioritizing Technical Debt

1. Speak the Stakeholders’ Language

Not everyone on your team is fluent in “developer-speak.” To effectively advocate for technical debt, translate its impact into metrics and terms stakeholders care about:

• Cost Savings: Show how addressing technical debt reduces ongoing maintenance costs. For example: “By refactoring X module, we could save 15% in operational costs over the next year.”
• Time-to-Market: Highlight how reducing technical debt speeds up future development cycles.
• Customer Experience: Explain how a more stable and efficient codebase results in fewer bugs and better user satisfaction.

Use analogies, if needed. For instance, compare technical debt to financial debt—if left unpaid, the “interest” accumulates and slows everything down.

2. Quantify the Problem

Concrete data beats vague claims every time. Gather metrics that demonstrate the impact of technical debt on your team’s performance, such as:

• Cycle Time: How long does it take to implement new features? Has this time increased due to legacy code issues?
• Bug Rates: Are you seeing a rise in defects traced back to outdated or poorly written code?
• Downtime Costs: If technical debt is causing system failures, calculate the revenue lost per minute/hour of downtime.

For example:

“Currently, our sprint velocity has dropped by 20% over the last quarter due to increased workarounds caused by outdated code. Addressing these issues could help us regain momentum and deliver 3 additional features per quarter.”

3. Share Real-World Examples

Stakeholders often connect better with stories than abstract ideas. Share case studies or real-world examples where ignoring technical debt led to major setbacks. For instance:

• The infamous healthcare.gov rollout delays caused by accumulated technical debt.
• How big tech companies like Netflix or Amazon proactively manage technical debt to stay ahead of competitors.

Or better yet, reference examples from your own company:

“Remember when Feature Y took two extra weeks to deliver because of compatibility issues with our legacy system? That’s the kind of delay we’re working to eliminate.”

4. Propose a Roadmap, Not Just a Problem

It’s not enough to say, “We have technical debt.” You need a clear plan for tackling it. Present a roadmap with specific action items, timelines, and resource requirements.

For example:

• Short-Term: Allocate 10% of each sprint to refactoring.
• Medium-Term: Target specific high-priority areas for optimization.
• Long-Term: Invest in automation tools to prevent future debt accumulation.

Be sure to balance this plan with ongoing business objectives. Reassure stakeholders that addressing technical debt won’t derail the overall roadmap—it’ll enhance it.

5. Highlight the Risks of Inaction

If logic and metrics don’t work, sometimes fear can be a motivator. Paint a picture of what could happen if technical debt continues to grow unchecked. Examples include:

• Lost Competitive Edge: Falling behind competitors who can innovate faster.
• Increased Costs: Higher costs down the line to rewrite or replace systems.
• Team Burnout: Developers frustrated by clunky systems may leave, increasing turnover costs.

6. Gain Buy-In From Influencers

Every organization has key influencers whose opinions carry weight. Identify these individuals (e.g., product managers, team leads, or senior engineers) and get them on your side. If they champion the cause, others are more likely to follow.

Tips for Keeping Technical Debt on the Agenda

Once you’ve made the case for technical debt, the work doesn’t stop there. Here are some tips to keep it a priority:

• Regular Reviews: Schedule quarterly reviews of technical debt levels and progress on addressing them.
• Visualize the Debt: Use tools like SonarQube or CodeClimate to create visual dashboards that show stakeholders the state of the codebase.
• Celebrate Wins: When addressing technical debt leads to measurable improvements (like faster release cycles or fewer bugs), highlight these successes.

FAQs

1. Is technical debt always a bad thing?

Not necessarily. Sometimes it’s strategic to take on technical debt to meet deadlines or launch a product faster. The key is to manage and repay it proactively.

2. How much time should we dedicate to addressing technical debt?

This depends on the severity of the debt and your team’s workload. A good starting point is allocating 10-20% of each sprint to refactoring and maintenance.

3. What tools can help manage technical debt?

Popular tools include:

• SonarQube: Analyzes code quality and tracks technical debt.
• Jira: For tracking technical debt alongside other tasks.
• CodeClimate: Offers detailed insights into code maintainability.

Final Thoughts

Addressing technical debt is no easy feat, but it’s one of the most impactful moves an engineering leader can make. By quantifying the problem, communicating in stakeholder-friendly terms, and presenting a clear roadmap, you can turn this invisible issue into a visible priority.

Remember, technical debt isn’t just an engineering problem—it’s a business problem. Convince your stakeholders of this, and you’ll pave the way for faster innovation, happier teams, and long-term success.