Technical Debt: Is There An Issue?

This discussion with John Shaw and colleagues Steph Garrett and Kevin Muha kicked off the two-day NFAIS Forethought Strategic Summit: Transforming Content Through Transformed Systems. The three explored the nature of technical debt as outlined in their event abstract below.

Although we all likely work with applications within and outside of our organizations that have been in service longer than the most tenured employee, it is unlikely that they have been re-engineered and updated frequently to meet the demands and strains of our ever-evolving online businesses. But why must we always re-invest and re-engineer these systems? If they are mature and/or even commoditized, is it really that important? YES!

This session will kickstart the discussions that will ensue over our two days around technical debt and the perils of often chasing the shiny objects while avoiding critical “housekeeping” until it’s too late; the constant change in technology and technology frameworks and the decisions of investment; dealing with End-of-Life technology and the risks it poses; how security and privacy must be constantly considered; the importance of accessibility and how it relates to re-engineering; being nimble and agile in our evolving businesses; and how outdated technology can cause all of this to seize up if not properly (re)invested in.

Click on the arrow above to watch the embedded video or click through here to view the recorded presentation on Youtube.