Speed vs quality and technical debt 

Project management triangle 

Good, fast, cheap. Pick two. 

Technical debt 

No content

If you develop a program for a long period of time by only adding features but never reorganizing it to reflect your understanding of those features, then eventually that program simply does not contain any understanding and all efforts to work on it take longer and longer.” — Ward Cunningham 

No content

Pressure can expedite delivery 

What is the business value? 

Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast 

Deliberate technical debt 

Refactor or rewrite? 

Small steps Don’t say “you’re fixing technical debt” (this work is never done), instead budget time and slack for “sustaining engineering work”. 

Momentum > urgency What I’ve learned is that if we want things to go fast, a sense of momentum is much more effective than a sense of urgency. — Elizabeth Hendrickson 

Some suggestions • Shared understanding of the big picture and what “good” looks like • Break work into small pieces • Embrace technical practices necessary to ensure quality code • Engaged and responsive product manager • The work, and the status of the work, is visible • A strong sense of partnership and trust 

Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast