Mob Rules, or: how I learned to Stop Worrying and Love Technical Debt

(A talk given at GeeCON 2026 in Krakow, Poland)

Love it or hate it (usually the latter), technical debt is inherent in any long-term engineering effort. Not just software: if you think the Boeing 787 doesn't contain decades-old legacy components, you may be an incurable optimist. Good on you! For the rest of us, though, technical debt is a fact of life, and while we all agree 'technical debt is bad' we often end up in a perennial, soul-sucking arguments that seldom lead to actual progress. Why is that? In this whirlwind tour of past mistakes and existential post-mortems we will deconstruct technical debt, break down its negative consequences and analyze why it's so hard to tackle both technically and organizationally. A well-defined problem is one we can actually move the needle on, and with clarity we can arrive at better strategies. Technical debt may not be a curable disease, but it doesn't have to be a terminal one!

Transcript

1. Mob Rules or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Technical Debt Tomer Gabel Technical Debt Collector @ Substrate Software “Services” Questions/feedback on sli.do #geecon
2. I want you to raise your hand (and keep it up) if… Your organization has technical debt
3. I want you to raise your hand (and keep it up) if… Deadlines were missed because of tech debt
4. I want you to raise your hand (and keep it up) if… Your technical debt Is out of control
6. Nice system you’ve got there! act I
7. Technical Debt
8. Technical Debt
9. Technical A deliberate choice made by engineers
10. Debt Accrues interest over time
11. Technical Debt
12. Technical Debt is not… Yucky code (well-encapsulated) A hacky script Using J2EE (that’s just a mistake)
13. The debt metaphor Debt is not inherently bad. Managed debt is a tool. “Startup capital” → Time to market ”Weather the storm” → Prioritization “Liquidity issues” → Insufficient headcount
14. Nice system you’ve got there! Shame if something were to happen to it. act I act II
15. On the flip side What does interest look like?
16. On the flip side What does interest look like? • System instability • Abstraction leakage • Unintended coupling • Schema rot • Flaky tests Drag (a.k.a the real villiain in our story)
17. The lifecycle of technical debt drag time decision
18. The lifecycle of technical debt drag Greenfield Observable Pain time
19. The lifecycle of technical debt drag Greenfield Growth Phase Panic time
20. The lifecycle of technical debt drag ?
21. The lifecycle of technical debt drag
22. Breaking it down Managing technical debt is hard. Why? 1. Impossible* to measure 2. Missing domain expertise 3. Ambiguous ownership 4. Misaligned incentives * Maybe. Ask a scientist
23. On: Misaligned incentives KPIs/OKRs change over time. Or do they? Greenfield Growth KTLO Delivery Delivery Delivery (of other products) Stability Stability Cost
24. On: Misaligned incentives So what gets compromised (and when)? Greenfield Growth KTLO Delivery Delivery Delivery (of other products) Stability Stability Cost
25. On: Misaligned incentives So what gets compromised (and when)? Greenfield Growth KTLO Delivery Delivery Delivery (of other products) Stability Stability Cost
26. On: Misaligned incentives So what gets compromised (and when)? Greenfield Growth KTLO Delivery Delivery Delivery (of other products) Stability Stability Cost
27. On: Misaligned incentives So what gets compromised (and when)? Greenfield Growth KTLO Delivery Delivery Delivery (of other products) Stability Stability Cost
28. On: Misaligned incentives When management feels the pain… 1. Organization is at peak crunch 2. Pain in least known parts of the system 3. Knowledgable staff moved on/left 4. … and the rest are likely burnt out
29. On: Misaligned incentives If the problem is… Problem solvers have to be: Complex → Highly skilled Large in scope → Available to take it on Highly integrated → Senior (have clout) Unglamorous work → Willing or egoless
30. On: Misaligned incentives 1. Skill 2.Clout 3.Availability 4.No ego Can you spot the problem?
31. On: Misaligned incentives 1. Skill 2.Clout 3.Availability 4.No ego These are invariably in conflict.
32. In summary At the point when schedules slip … … the problem is hardest to solve … … your staff is least knowledgable, least available and most burnt out … That’s when management notices.
33. Nice system you’ve got there! Shame if something were to happen to it. I’ll make you an offer you can’t refuse. act I act II act III
34. I pay off your tech debt. You pay off my mortgage.
35. So what’s the alternative?
36. Skill → Reduce complexity? Clout → Artificially generate clout? Availability → Artificially generate availability? No ego → Satisfy egos? Realignment To make the problem easier, can we…
37. Reduce complexity? Artificially generate clout? Artificially generate availability? Satisfy egos? Realignment Can we… … but it’s not easy
38. Tech Debt Collector Requisite skills/attributes: • Archaeology • Fearlessness • Tenacity • Prefrontal cortex
39. Tech Debt Collector Who fits the bill? (non-comprehensive) • Solution engineers • Back-end devs • SREs
40. Making it work 1. Who owns technical debt? 2. Who can prioritize technical debt? 3. Who decides on hiring/compensation? 4. Who can lend organizational clout? CTO or VP R&D
41. Can this really work? I think so.
42. Takeaways • Technical debt is inevitable • Debt management is critical (if you want to avoid catastrophe) • Paying it requires dedicated personnel • … and strategic management!
43. tomer@substrate.co.il @substrate_eng https://github.com/holograph Thank you for listening! Feedback? Substrate
44. An excellent question! Recap: Requisite skills/attributes • Archaeology • Fearlessness • Tenacity • Prefrontal cortex
45. An excellent question! Recap: Requisite skills/attributes • Archaeology • Fearlessness • Tenacity • Prefrontal cortex AI can really help here