Tech debt is a silent adversary in the world of digital design. It accumulates quietly, often unnoticed until it reaches a tipping point, causing significant setbacks and expenses. This is why it’s crucial to meticulously plan your projects, allowing for future functionality and growth. Otherwise, you should be prepared for potential downtime or hefty costs down the road. Let me share a personal story that underscores this point.
The Wild Year of 2020
2020 was a year of unprecedented challenges for businesses, forcing many to pivot to online sales rapidly. This urgency often led to corners being cut in the rush to launch something functional. My experience with one particular project serves as a stark reminder of the consequences of tech debt.
A Tale of Two Plans
Originally, I was working on a website intended to be a standard business information site, with plans to add online sales functionality in the future. We had a clear roadmap: the online store would feature combined carts and checkouts across multiple brands within the same company. This required a complex site structure where separate sites shared a single database, presenting both advantages and challenges.
Then, COVID-19 hit, and everything changed.
The Rush to Adapt
As the pandemic unfolded, there was an urgent need to shift to online sales. Retail stores were shuttered, making e-commerce the lifeline for many businesses. We scrambled to launch the site with only a half-baked plan, overlooking the long-term implications in our haste.
The initial plan for a phased approach was abandoned. Instead, we had to add e-commerce functionality immediately, without considering how this would impact the site’s future growth. It quickly became apparent that our original strategy was no longer viable. However, taking the site offline to regroup wasn’t an option; this was now the company’s only sales channel.
The Cost of Cutting Corners
As we pushed forward, we continuously patched and hacked the site to add new functionality. Each new addition often broke existing features, creating a cycle of constant repairs. The site ended up being held together by what felt like digital duct tape and super glue.
This patchwork approach led to a fragile system that was difficult to maintain and even harder to scale. Eventually, the client decided to start over with a different developer. I couldn’t blame them. The failure stemmed from not addressing potential tech debt upfront and not insisting on a more thorough planning phase at the project’s onset.
The Lesson: Tech Debt Will Catch Up
Tech debt will always catch up to you. The project could have been much smoother and more functional if we had taken a few extra weeks at the beginning to plan everything out properly. This would have allowed us to consider all future needs and eliminate unnecessary features.
However, hindsight is 20/20. We didn’t fully understand the scope of what was required until we were deep into the project. The rapid changes in the business environment caught us off guard. While I’m proud that we helped keep the company afloat during a critical time, the experience highlighted the pitfalls of accruing tech debt.
Planning for the Future
The key takeaway from this experience is the importance of thorough planning. Here are some strategies to avoid tech debt:
- Define Clear Objectives: Understand your long-term goals and plan your structure accordingly.
- Prioritize Flexibility: Build with future functionality in mind, allowing for easy modifications and scalability.
- Start with the right building blocks: Having the right platform and tools in place from the beginning will help you identify potential issues early, and allow for planned functionality without having to start over down the road.
- Allocate Time for Planning: Don’t rush the initial planning phase. It’s better to spend a few extra weeks now than to deal with months of headaches later.
- Communicate with Project Partners: Make sure your project partners understand the implications of cutting corners and the benefits of a well-planned approach.
Conclusion
Tech debt is an inevitable part of web development, but with careful planning and foresight, its impact can be minimized. My experience during the tumultuous year of 2020 taught me invaluable lessons about the importance of preparing for future functionality and the dangers of rushing projects. By taking the time to plan and communicate effectively, one can create robust, scalable websites that stand the test of time, avoiding the pitfalls of tech debt and ensuring long-term success.
