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Key technical debt reduction strategies
Suboptimal software fixes cost time and money as well as strain departments throughout the organization. Here's how to develop software the right way.
Today's IT leaders, project managers and software development leaders must prioritize technical debt prevention.
Tech debt has far-reaching, negative effects. Software development that relies on subpar approaches for the sake of speed or other reasons results in applications that are difficult to maintain, vulnerable to security breaches and difficult for employees to use. To prevent tech debt, leaders can use key best practices at each stage of the software development process.
Before the project starts
Project expectations are a cornerstone of successful software development. The goal is to prevent technical debt from happening by taking steps early in the project.
Validate architecture
At the project's outset, senior team members should invest time in the application's overall architecture and new features that are large in scope. Working on these elements early in the project will ensure that the team can implement the project requirements as planned and will help the team maintain the application for additional releases.
Create project requirements
The requirements document should explain what the application is supposed to do and list each application feature. The document should provide enough detail that everyone involved in the application development process will understand expectations. People involved in the project include software developers, test teams and documentation specialists, among others.
Other project documents that the software development team might create include design documents with detailed information about a specific feature's creation and usage.
Implement coding standards
The project should include coding standards that the software development team must follow. Creating code standards will ensure code consistency across the application and simplify the transition if team members begin work on a different part of the project.
The software development team should also ensure a process is in place to confirm that the team is following the coding standards, particularly new members.
Create a test automation framework
Developers should have access to the test automation framework that the team will use to house and run automated tests. The framework should include instructions on expectations, use of the framework, and applicable standards and processes.
From the outset, software developers should build automated test scripts to run throughout development. Continually running these test scripts will identify code changes that break completed features and prevent future issues.
During the project's implementation
As application development continues, the software development team must continue being vigilant about technical debt. Some tasks involve implementing previously planned initiatives.
Run automated testing
Automated testing is the process of using technology to test a new application. These tests are faster than manual testing and offer a level of coverage that a person cannot provide. The software development team should run test scripts regularly to confirm that new code is not breaking existing features.
If a test fails, developers can decide if the new code needs fixing or if they should update the test based on new functionality.
Carry out code reviews
Code reviews involve one member of the team checking another person's code. They are especially important early in the development process to confirm that developers are following the project's coding standards. The number of reviews can decrease over time as developers prove that they are producing good code.
Code reviews can continue for developers who are not following standards and for complex features.
Review the feature development process
Confirming that the software development team is following the feature development process can reduce unexpected technical debt.
For example, writing the design document prior to writing code ensures that a software developer understands a software feature as well as received feedback from product managers and project leaders before they created the code. Requiring that design documents are written and reviewed before code is written will avoid mistakes later in the process.
Other parts of the feature development process that the software development team must follow might include developing automated tests, updating documentation and closing open defects before marking a feature as complete.
Assign tasks at the appropriate skill level
Tasks for team members should align with their skills and experience. For example, senior staff should handle more complex tasks.
If a junior developer is involved with a complex task, code reviews can assess their work, and intermediate developers can gain new skills by reviewing junior developers' code.
After the project's go-live
The software development team might need to address accumulated technical debt after the application is developed. Here are some tasks that team members might need to tackle.
Carry out refactoring
Refactoring involves fixing code to address known issues. The goal is not to change the software features but to improve the code, making it more reliable and easier to update in the future.
The software development team should make sure to set aside some time for this important step. Code that is poorly written but still works is often left as is until a critical issue forces a change. This reactive approach leads to technical debt staying in the product.
Review defects
While a complete lack of defects would be ideal, eliminating all application issues is typically not possible without significantly delaying the release. Near the end of the project, the software development team usually only fixes critical issues and waits to address the rest until a future update or release. After shipping the application, project leaders should schedule time to review any remaining defects and identify each defect's priority, effect on customers and amount of time to fix.
When the software development team is creating a project schedule for the next software release, team members should add time for addressing issues from the previous release.
Finalize documentation
After the application release, team members should allocate time to complete their documentation and properly store all project documentation in the project repository.
Ensuring that documentation is correct and accessible in the future will help with future software releases.
Eric St-Jean is an independent consultant with a particular focus on HR technology, project management and Microsoft Excel training and automation. He writes about numerous business and technology areas.
