Technical debt: The silent killer of your software

• *Technical debts are like a loan you will receive in the future of your software. ** Short-term abbreviations and compromises in the code may save time today, but they accumulate interest rates in the form of increased maintenance effort, decreasing development speed and increasing susceptibility to errors. Untreated technical debt can drive a software project into ruin.

What are technical debts?

The term "Technical Debt" was coined by Ward Cunningham in 1992. It describes the implicit costs that arise when developers choose fast but suboptimal solutions instead of implementing the best solution.

As with financial debt, the longer the debts are, the more expensive their eradication will be.

What you see (10%)

Short: Executive answer: Technical debt can ruin your software project.

Executive answer: Technical debt can ruin your software project.

For Technical debt: The silent killer of your software, Cost Calculator: AI Development, Solution: Legacy Reduction, Software Maintenance sowie Cost Calculator: Software Maintenance help you align implementation, scope and budget before you commit.

Visible bugs, slow performance, outdated user interface

What's underneath (90%)

Short: Missing tests, outdated dependencies, undocumented code, bad architecture, vulnerabilities, duplicated code

Missing tests, outdated dependencies, undocumented code, bad architecture, vulnerabilities, duplicated code

The different types of technical debt

Short: Code debt Duplicated code, missing abstraction, complex methods, unclear naming

Code debt Duplicated code, missing abstraction, complex methods, unclear naming

Architectural schools Monolithic structures, lack of modularity, close coupling between components

Test schools Missing unit tests, no integration tests, insufficient code coverage

Documentation schools Outdated or missing documentation, unclear API descriptions

The true cost of technical debt

Short: Technical debts are not just a technical problem – they have massive business impacts:

Technical debts are not just a technical problem – they have massive business impacts:

ImpactDescriptionCosts Slower developmentNew features last longer than 30-50% development time ** Increased error rate** Changes lead to unexpected bugs+40% bug fixes ** Employee turnover**Good developers leave frustrated the team 50-200% of the annual salary per leaving Safety risksOld dependencies with vulnerabilitiesPotential catastrophic

"Technical debts are like weeds in the garden. If you do not regularly ask, it will eventually overthrow everything."

Strategies for reducing technical debt

Short: The Boy Scout rule: Always leave the code a little better than you found it.

The Boy Scout rule: Always leave the code a little better than you found it. Small, continuous improvements add up.

• Dedicated [Refactoring](/services/software recovery)-Sprints: Regularly reserve time (e.g. 20% of each sprint) exclusively for the removal of technical debt.

• Building backlog lead: Document They systematically and prioritize technical debt after impact and effort.

• Automatized code analysis: Use tools like SonarQube to measure and monitor technical debt.

• Test Driven Development: Write tests before the code to ensure high quality from the start.

When is professional help necessary?

Short: If the technical debts are so high that the team has more time with failure

If the technical debts are so high that the team has more time with failure

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On the numbers: Survey and market figures without an inline footnote follow common public reports (e.g. Bitkom) and official statistics (Destatis). Practical examples: Groenewold IT internal data, 2026.

References and further reading

Short: The following independent references complement the topics in this article:

The following independent references complement the topics in this article:

• Bitkom – German digital industry association
• German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI)
• European Commission – Digital strategy
• MDN Web Docs (Mozilla)
• W3C – World Wide Web Consortium

"Privacy by design is an architecture issue—especially when master data is personal."

— Björn Groenewold, Managing Director, Groenewold IT Solutions

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is this article about: “Technical debt: The silent killer of your software”?

Here we cover Technical debt: The silent killer of your software — focused on architecture, process, and business outcomes. In short: Technical debt can ruin your software project.

Learn how to identify, measure and systematically reduce them.

Who benefits most from the content described here?

Typical readers are business and IT leaders in Software maintenance who want to secure quality, security, and maintainability over the long term.

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In a digital strategy, prioritize stable core processes first, then extensions. See also professional software development and consulting. For multi-system landscapes, IT consulting and architecture helps align vendors and internal teams.

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