Tech debts

Look back year 2012, I was lucky to be involved in couple new projects, and left one failed project. This blog dedicate to tech debts and my five cents why and how.

Before the how, we need to understand they why. The reason is very simple, understand the history will help us to avoid the same mistakes. Every successful company has tech debts, no matter location and size. A few of them are:

• focused on "core business"
• software supposed to go retirement (but never did)
• scale equal to add more hardware

Summarize how tech debt builds up. Not prioritized, too risky, cost too much, value creation to customer is invisible.

Now the fun part. How do deal with it?

First, technology does not solve tech debts. People do! It is always about people.

Second, choose your players and leader wisely. It is all about team work.

Explain the how a bit further. Too often "people" tells me java is better than perl, or google apps is better than exchange. Take one step back, each programming language, software and/or systems only serve people who can master it. I agree maybe option B might be easier or is better designed than option A, but in many cases, it's not about the technology. Also many decisions were made in circumstance with limited knowledge about future. Hindsight is something we see every often today. New technology may make you to the goal faster, but it is not the cure.

People, that we love and hate. Who creates and destroys. I have been delightful to work with some greatest persons in business, also manager one and another. So far I have learned, great team work led to results. Only A players in a team might not achieve better than a mixed team with A and hungry C players. It is like this "alpha male" thing. With right leader for motivation and team dynamic, that is the killing machine. Only A and B players might not run faster.

Summarize how we deal with tech debts.

1. Find right people
2. Understand the issue
3. Find an easiest solution with current technology
4. Assemble the team with right skills
5. Kick the ass!

Trust me, after couple years, you properly have chosen another technology anyway. I usually think "tech debts" measure how successful one company has been without truly failing.

New life motto: Technology only serves who truly master it. Enslave others.