Avoiding Technical Debt: A Diagnostic Checklist

If you notice any of the following warning signs in your development process, there’s a strong chance you’re already dealing with technical debt. Use this checklist to identify problem areas before they grow into costly roadblocks.

SLOW DEVELOPMENT AND DEPLOYMENT 

• Do features take longer to develop due to complex code dependencies? 
• Are build times excessively long, causing delays in deployment? 

OUTDATED TECHNOLOGIES

• Does your project rely on outdated frameworks, libraries, or tools?
•  Does upgrading dependencies feel risky due to potential breakages?

INCONSISTENT CODE QUALITY 

• Are you working without established coding standards?
• Does your codebase consist of varying styles and conventions? 

FREQUENT BUG FIXES AND PATCHES 

• Are you spending more time fixing bugs than developing new features? 
• Are the same issues re-occurring despite previous fixes? 

DIFFICULTY ONBOARDING NEW DEVELOPERS 

• Is the productivity of new hires hindered by the codebase’s complexity or poor documentation?
• Does onboarding require extensive knowledge transfer? 

RECURRING TECHNICAL ISSUES 

• Do the same technical issues reoccur, without a long-term solution? 
• Do you frequently use workarounds instead of proper fixes?

HIGH MAINTENANCE COSTS 

• Is a large portion of your budget allocated to maintaining the existing system? 
• Is the cost of adding features/making changes disproportionately high? 

POOR DOCUMENTATION 

• Is your documentation is outdated, incomplete, or non-existent? 

HIGH CODE COMPLEXITY 

• Does your codebase have intertwined components that make it difficult to understand or change? 
• Does it lack modularity, requiring extensive modification for minor changes? 
• Do you struggle to understand the code without consulting original developers?

LOW CODE REUSABILITY 

• Has a lack of reusable components/modules caused you to duplicate code in multiple places?
• Do you often rewrite code rather than leverage existing functionality? 

PERFORMANCE ISSUES 

• Does your app experience frequent performance issues, such as slow load times or high latency?
• Are performance problems often traced back to tech debt in the codebase? 

USER COMPLAINTS AND POOR USER EXPERIENCE 

• Do users frequently report bugs, crashes, or performance issues? 
• Has the user experience been negatively impacted by technical limitations or unresolved issues?

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Technical debt can create serious roadblocks for any software project. If you’d like to learn how you can prevent technical debt in your software project, don't miss our our Comprehensive Guide to Technical Debt, covering proven best practices and strategies for avoiding it altogether.

At Yeti, we follow these principles at every stage to ensure the products we build are scalable, maintainable, and successful,. If you're currently dealing with a project weighed down by technical debt, we'd love to help - don’t miss our article Digging Yourself Out of Technical Debt article - and feel free to send  a message our way!