Technical Debt

Technical debt in software development is mostly focused on non-optimised code but can also include things like out of date documentation. Quite often a product of time constraints, software is developed quickly to meet deadlines and opportunities to improve or refactor cannot or are not taken.

Technical debt can show up in the form of overly complex code due to adding more lines rather than integrating them. Duplicated functionality rather than a common method. A lack of unit or integration tests. Using older versions of components like libraries when new ones are available.

Technical debt going unaddressed for long periods of time can lead to product impacts like slow loading or processing times, security vulnerabilities and lack of support through outdated documentation or just a general lack of reliable information.

Also known as "Tech Debt" in the context of Continuous Testing, Holistic Testing and DevOps. Tech debt is a metaphor for the engineering quality trade-offs developers, testers and business stakeholders make to meet schedules and customer expectations. 

Types: There are various different types of tech debt, such as intentional vs. unintentional tech debt. 

Morale impact: Tech debt can also affect the development team's morale and productivity. Working with a codebase that is difficult to maintain, or in a team where value being delivered is ignored, can be frustrating and demotivating.
Financial costs: Over time, tech debt can lead to increased costs due to the need for more extensive refactoring or even complete rewrites. This can impact the overall budget and financial planning of a project.
Examples of tech debt: hard-coded values, lack of the right level of documentation, no test automation frameworks or poor architecture decisions.
Strategies for managing tech debt: This should include ways to manage and reduce technical debt, such as regular code reviews, refactoring sessions, and adopting best practices, risk storming, shifting left and right where appropriate can make the domain or teams definition more actionable.