Code reviews: A strong weapon in the fight against technical debt

Code reviews: A strong weapon in the fight against technical debt

The term "technical debt" is ubiquitous in [software development](/services/software development). Similar to financial debts, they can accumulate over time and considerably slow down and increase the further development of a project. But there are effective strategies to manage this invisible load and keep the code base healthy. One of the most effective methods is regular code reviews. In this post, we will examine how code reviews help to proactively identify and reduce technical debt.

What are technical debts exactly?

The term of technical debt, coined by Ward Cunningham, describes the implicit costs incurred by reworking on a software, because one has opted for a simple but suboptimal solution instead of choosing a better but more elaborate approach. These "debts" must eventually be "refunded", usually by refactoring the code, which costs additional time and resources. One can imagine it like a loan: one gets an advantage in the short term (faster delivery), but later has to pay interest in the form of increased maintenance, lower stability and slower development.

Types and causes of technical debt

It is roughly differentiated between ** desired** and ** unintended** technical debt. Proven debts are deliberately accepted to comply with a tight deadline, for example, or to receive a fast market feedback for a new feature. However, this decision should be documented and linked to a clear plan for the later elimination. Unintentional debts often arise unn through lack of experience, inadequate communication in the team or lack of standards. The main causes are manifold:

• Time pressure: Fast, often dirty solutions are preferred to keep dates.
• Deficient knowledge: Developers may not know the best practices, design patterns or the subtleties of the programming language used.
• **Old technology:**The technology used is no longer contemporary, is no longer supported and makes maintenance and extension more difficult.
• Selective documentation: Changes are difficult to understand and implement, leading to inconsistent implementations.
• Inadequate tests: Without a solid network of automated tests, refactoring becomes risky, which leads to the necessary improvements being postponed.

Regardless of their origin, technical debts lead to a lower development speed, increased susceptibility to errors and decreasing motivation in the team. It is therefore crucial to establish strategies for technical debt.

The central role of code reviews

Code reviews are a systematic process, be