Technical Debt

Shortcuts in code that trade speed for long-term cost.

Product Management
IH InterviewHood
Definition

Tech debt is the result of suboptimal code or quick fixes that need future cleanup.

Definition

Tech debt is the result of suboptimal code or quick fixes that need future cleanup.

Technical debt refers to the cost of choosing quick, easy solutions in code or architecture over long-term, optimal ones. These shortcuts speed up delivery temporarily but incur future costs in terms of maintenance, refactoring, and scalability. Managing tech debt is crucial for product health and velocity.

PMs must balance delivery pressure with code quality to avoid slowing down the team later.

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