Scalable Human Blog

TL;DR:
Technical debt is inevitable in software development, but how much is acceptable depends on your context. Striking the right balance means managing debt intentionally, aligning it with business goals, and continuously investing in refactoring and documentation.

In software engineering, technical debt is like financial debt: sometimes necessary, often risky, and always something you’ll eventually have to pay for. But how much is too much? The answer isn’t one-size-fits-all. It depends on your team’s goals, the product’s lifecycle, and how disciplined you are about managing it.

In this post, we’ll explore how to determine an acceptable level of technical debt, when to take it on, and how to keep it from becoming a long-term liability. Whether you’re building an MVP or scaling a mature product, understanding your debt tolerance is key to sustainable development.

What Is Technical Debt, Really?

Technical debt refers to the trade-offs developers make to ship code faster, often at the cost of long-term code quality. It can stem from rushed deadlines, lack of documentation, outdated dependencies, or short-term fixes that aren’t scalable.

But not all debt is bad. In fact, some debt can be strategic. For example, when building an MVP, it’s often smarter to prioritize speed over perfection. The key is to know what debt you’re taking on—and why.

As CodiLime explains, debt becomes problematic when it’s unmanaged or invisible. If left unchecked, it slows development, increases bugs, and frustrates your team.

The 80-20 Rule: A Practical Framework

A useful way to manage technical debt is the 80-20 rule: spend 80% of your time on delivering new value, and 20% on managing debt. This strikes a balance between innovation and sustainability.

Shopify takes this idea further with their 25 Percent Rule, allocating 25% of engineering capacity to technical debt reduction. They treat this as a non-negotiable part of their development cycle, ensuring that debt doesn’t accumulate unchecked.

This kind of structured approach helps teams stay focused on business goals while still investing in long-term code health.

Context Matters: Business Needs vs. Code Quality

Accepting technical debt is often a business decision. If you’re racing to meet a deadline or get a product to market, it might make sense to defer some cleanup. But that decision should be intentional and well-documented.

Keeping a visible record of technical debt—through issue trackers, code comments, or internal documentation—helps teams prioritize and revisit those decisions later. Without documentation, debt becomes invisible and eventually toxic.

Prioritize What Hurts Most

Not all debt is equally damaging. Focus on the debt that affects your team’s velocity, stability, or scalability. If a messy module is slowing down every sprint, fix it. If a rarely touched part of the codebase is a bit ugly but harmless, it can wait.

This triage mindset ensures you’re spending your limited debt budget where it counts.

Maintain with Discipline

Managing technical debt isn’t a one-time cleanup—it’s a habit. Regular refactoring, code reviews, and automation tools like linters or static analysis can keep debt from piling up.

As CodiLime points out, teams that integrate debt management into their workflows are more resilient and adaptable over time. It’s not about eliminating debt entirely—it’s about keeping it under control.

Key Takeaways

• Use the 80-20 or 25% rule to allocate time for debt management alongside feature development.
• Accept debt strategically when it aligns with business goals, but always track and document it.
• Prioritize high-impact debt that affects performance or team productivity.
• Refactor regularly and use automation tools to prevent debt from growing unnoticed.
• Tailor your debt tolerance to your project’s stage, size, and risk appetite.

Conclusion

There’s no magic number for how much technical debt is acceptable—but there is a smart way to manage it. By aligning debt decisions with business needs, documenting them clearly, and dedicating regular time to pay it down, you can keep your codebase healthy without sacrificing speed.

Think of technical debt like a mortgage: manageable when planned, dangerous when ignored. So take it on when it makes sense—but always know how you’ll pay it back.

How does your team handle technical debt? Share your strategies or struggles in the comments—we’d love to hear your take.

📚 Further Reading & Related Topics
If you’re exploring how much technical debt is acceptable, these related articles will provide deeper insights:
• Technical Debt: The Silent Killer of Software Projects – This article delves into the hidden costs and long-term risks of technical debt, complementing the discussion on how much debt is manageable.
• Why “Move Fast and Break Things” Might Break Your Business – Explores the trade-offs between speed and sustainability in software development, offering context for decisions that often lead to technical debt.
• Clean Architecture Book Review: Software Structure and Design Explained – Highlights principles of clean architecture that help minimize technical debt by promoting maintainable and scalable codebases.