Software Development, across technologies, is essentially a trade-off between solutioning and time in hand. The perfect solution in less time is just as mythical as a unicorn. Even if a great solution is devised with the best of available knowledge, at some point in future it becomes redundant. On a lighter note, arguably the only application to stand the test of time is Tetris. Over time every software tends to become slower or accumulate redundancies which might have been standard in past but are now debt on the business process.

Following are some of the key reasons for technical debt –

  1. Outdated technology’s integration with modern technology leads to inefficiencies
  2. Improvements in business processes which are not assimilated with solution
  3. Development issues due to less optimal solutioning and insufficient testing at different levels

Following are some of the key impacts of the accured technical debt –

  1. Low solution quality leads to a lack of agility and robustness
  2. Inefficiencies and maintenance costs accumulate which leads to financial implications
  3. Due to advancements in technology, the security vulnerabilities increase if the solution is not robust

Example – Dated programs written in the ECC system, when migrated to S4 Hana need to be rewritten (if not decommissioned). Code can be outdated from a best practices perspective. A dated report might be replaced by a CDS view. Enhancements might be deemed redundant with incoming updates.

~S