The Mikado Method

Appendix A. Technical debt

This appendix covers

• Understanding technical debt
• Focusing on sustainable development and avoiding shortcuts
• Sources for redesigning and restructuring

Outside of the software world, you take out loans to finance different sorts of investments or expenses. You then have to pay back the principal (the money you borrowed) and interest (a time-based fee for borrowing the money). You take out loans both privately and in business-related situations.

The basic idea behind taking out a loan is to delay the payment for a purchase, from a time when you don’t have the purchasing power to a time when you do. Sometimes this means you pay back a little at a time over a longer period, perhaps over decades for expensive things ...