Technical Debt Is Like a Tetris Game

#1

Post by ingve » Sat, Jan 18, 2020, 11:09 PM UTC

Technical Debt Is Like a Tetris Game
fluentcpp.com

Re: Technical Debt Is Like a Tetris Game

#2

Post by thisisastopsign » Sat, Jan 18, 2020, 11:10 PM UTC

Might actually be the best metaphor I've seen on this topic

Re: Technical Debt Is Like a Tetris Game

#3

Post by rubenbe » Mon, Jan 20, 2020, 12:23 PM UTC

I tend use the "Leaning Tower of Pisa" metaphor. If it leans too much, the tower will fall down. If it doesn't tilt at all, you won't sell tickets to tourists.

The art is to find the sweet spot.

Re: Technical Debt Is Like a Tetris Game

#4

Post by fizixer » Mon, Jan 20, 2020, 12:26 PM UTC

thisisastopsign wrote: post #2

Might actually be the best metaphor I've seen on this topic

Fully agree. Refactoring (that serves to reduce tech. debt) needs to happen on a recurring basis. It's the 3rd pillar of coding activity, alongside features, and bugfixes.

Re: Technical Debt Is Like a Tetris Game

#5

Post by rimliu » Mon, Jan 20, 2020, 12:26 PM UTC

rubenbe wrote: post #3

I tend use the "Leaning Tower of Pisa" metaphor. If it leans too much, the tower will fall down. If it doesn't tilt at all, you won't sell tickets to tourists. The art is to find the sweet spot.

OTOH there are thousands of tourist attractions that are not leaning. So unless the only interesting feature of your software is the technical debt I am not sure how this metaphor applies.

Re: Technical Debt Is Like a Tetris Game

#6

Post by akerro » Mon, Jan 20, 2020, 12:26 PM UTC

rubenbe wrote: post #3

I tend use the "Leaning Tower of Pisa" metaphor. If it leans too much, the tower will fall down. If it doesn't tilt at all, you won't sell tickets to tourists. The art is to find the sweet spot.

> If it doesn't tilt at all, you won't sell tickets to tourists.

I dont know about that... Eiffel tower is vertically straight and sells a lot of tickets.

Re: Technical Debt Is Like a Tetris Game

#7

Post by baud147258 » Mon, Jan 20, 2020, 12:32 PM UTC

I think my favorite analogy for technical debt is uncovered option, which, compared to just technical debt, adds the information that it might or might not be required to pay it back. Of course, to be able to use, your non-coder interlocutor needs to know the relevant vocabulary.

Re: Technical Debt Is Like a Tetris Game

#8

Post by deadbunny » Mon, Jan 20, 2020, 12:36 PM UTC

Kelsy Hightower has used a similar analogy in regards to resource allocation which covers a little on the tech debt side of things.

https://youtu.be/HlAXp0-M6SY?t=654

Re: Technical Debt Is Like a Tetris Game

#9

Post by epicgiga » Mon, Jan 20, 2020, 12:41 PM UTC

Analogies and metaphors are pointless. Whenever you use them, they'll just respond with their own counter metaphors they pull equally efficiently from their own rear ends, with a tone of indignation, implying you're trying to trick them.

The only thing that works with technical debt is to aggressively uncover and strike down any short term incentivisation from an organization perspective, and to set in absolute concrete terms what the irrevocable code maintenance policy is, and punish those who don't follow it. Everything beyond that, TD measurement tools and TD backlogs (which you interlace at a minimum ratio) are just details.

But the last thing that'll help you is talking about Tetris in front of your client / PO / boss / whatever. Just call it "maintenance work". And if they're hostile to even that, it means they're stupid enough that you can just do it anyway and call it something else and they'll never know.

Re: Technical Debt Is Like a Tetris Game

#10

Post by k__ » Mon, Jan 20, 2020, 12:42 PM UTC

Like a tetris game where you (often) just see the top row of every column.