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0 pointsgearhart9y ago0 comments

When I read this I assumed you meant a dial that represents the current level of technical debt, rather than a dial that represents how much technical debt you're allowed to accrue.

The other interpretation might be a neat solution. Allow developers to indicate publicly what proportion of the time their last tasks took, they should have taken had there been no technical debt. It would handle the communication from developer into business-speak pretty effectively.

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3 comments · 1 top-level

ScottBurson9y ago· 2 in thread

At the very least you need both dials! If you have only the one that management sets, saying how much time to spend refactoring, it will always be at 0. (Okay, they don't literally have to be dials, but there has to be some communication of the kind you describe, so management has some idea how much time is being lost.)

crdoconnor9y ago

>At the very least you need both dials! If you have only the one that management sets, saying how much time to spend refactoring, it will always be at 0.

Management decisions are usually CYA based, and leaving the dial set at 0 both exposes them and gives developers a get out of jail free card.

i.e. leaving it at zero is suicide. That's the whole point of making it a trackable dial.

Probably what would happen in most cases is it would fluctuate between 30% during average times and 0% during crunch times.

user59944619y ago

That seems utterly wrong to me.

I'd expect any manager worth is salt to put that at a 10% or 20% (basically anywhere NOT 0) and uses that number as a reminder to devs that part of the job description includes MAINTAINING the system in proper condition, not just piling up new stuff on top of the existing random stuff.

Same as a car needs regular maintenance, a dev project needs regular maintenance.

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