We are taught from an early age to be careful with our money, to avoid the dangers of debt. So why is it that we, in IT, are so poor at managing our own “Technical Debt”? Like all debt, the burden of Technical Debt compounds over time, making it hard to make changes later to key systems and applications. Here are five steps to controlling personal debt that might also help us manage Technical Debt. Download the white paper here: http://cainc.to/Jyj7kC

1. Avoiding the “Technical Debt Collectors” With
DevOps

2. We are taught from an early age to be careful with
our money and to avoid the dangers of debt.
Don’t spend more than you make.
Keep on top of your debt payments.
Compounded interest can be dangerous.
Beware of hidden fees and penalties.
You can end up paying more in interest than you paid for what you
bought.

3. So why is it that we, in IT, are so poor at managing
our own “Technical Debt”?
Highlighted in “The Agile Manifesto” in 2002, “Technical Debt” is the
price organizations pay for releasing code without fixing any problems
immediately.
Like all debt, the burden of Technical Debt compounds over time, making
it hard to make changes later to key systems and applications.

4. But DevOps may be able to help.
And our early lessons about personal finance can help show us the way.
Here are five steps to controlling personal debt that may also help us
manage Technical Debt:

5. 1. Avoid bad spending habits.
Easy credit may introduce bad habits. We are able
to spend big and put off repayment for “later.”

6. Avoid bad coding habits, too.
Testing is put off because the project is delayed. Or maybe there’s no
testing infrastructure at all.
With DevOps, teams make it a habit to test in parallel and fix code
defects as early in the cycle as possible, immediately.
Seek out and eradicate the conditions that allow bad habits to fester.

7. 2. Consolidate your debt.
People with credit problems often spread it across
multiple credit cards, making it difficult to manage.

8. Consolidate your Technical Debt too.
In IT, our debt often spans multiple systems, many of which are built
upon badly designed and developed code bases. Short-term fixes and
bad code perpetuate the problem.
Identify the biggest problems and address these first.
Remember the 80/20 rule – fix the 20 percent of the systems that cause
80 percent of the problems.

9. 3. Seek guidance and counseling.
Breaking bad personal finance habits is tough,
so people normally seek outside help.

10. In IT, seek peer review, mentors and
management input.
Make extensive use of code and peer-level reviews, mentorship and
management guidance.
IT operations and security should be involved right from the start of
development.

11. 4. Avoid ‘spend more’ incentives.
Folks get tempted by credit card offers to get double frequent flyer
points or 0 percent interest for six months.

12. Don’t reward production volume
at the expense of quality.
Be careful using ‘carrots’ in development – incentivizing function points,
number of user stories delivered or even lines of code.
You get the behavior you pay for. Make sure incentives are aligned with
code quality metrics.

13. 5. Watch for hidden interest charges.
Those “no interest for 2 years” deals have large and retroactive interest
charges if you miss a payment or don’t pay off in full by the deadline.

14. In IT, watch for hidden Technical Debt
Everybody pays attention to Dev, but there is Technical Debt in Ops as
well:
• Capacity • Performance • Network latency
A code defect led one client to believe they needed to buy more
hardware, when the problem was really with the code.

15. Start getting your Technical Debt
under control.
Download a copy of “Waste Not, Want Not: Applying Agile and Lean
thinking to eliminate eight elements of waste and prevent technical
debt”
DOWNLOAD NOW
www.ca.com/us/register/forms/collateral/devop
s-practitioner-series.aspx