How Full-stack Developers Can Save a Project from Preventing the Technical Debt

In this fast-paced technological environment, time is important. And a software development project has to be completed on time. But at what cost? Since the software needs to be developed on certain fixed deadlines. However, the software teams are always in a race with time to complete the project, and many a time they have to choose from two options: either to take the easy road, which consists of messier codes but completion of project or more time consuming path, but perfect codes. The easier route will surely help in completing the project faster but at the cost of technical debt. 

Now, what is technical debt? The term first appeared in 1992 in an article by Ward Cunningham. He explained that the organization can save money initially by dirty and quick coding, which will ultimately become an “interest” from a debt accrue. This will make any issue in the software more and more expensive with time.

A study conducted by Mckinsey has estimated that out of 92% of majority respondents, 20% or less of their IT budget is allocated to resolving technical debt. Also, according to research by Stepsize, software developers spend, on average, 1 day of each week to solve a technical debt.

What is Technical Debt?

Let’s understand with a simple example of home repair on a leaky roof; at first, it is just a small drip of water, so you fix it with waterproofing tape. But as time passes and the leak gets worse, it damages the roof and wall and eventually causes structural damage.

Technical debt refers to a future cost incurred when a software development team finds a faster route to cut the expenditure and chooses a suboptimal code architecture. While these shortcuts help in the short run, they cause heavy damage. They frequently cause increased maintenance costs and reduced productivity and ultimately affect the scalability over time.

What Is the Role of Full-Stack Developers in Managing Technical Debt?

The full-stack developers, with their comprehensive understanding of both front-end and back-end, are experts in identifying and mitigating technical debt. They have an approach of detecting the error across the entire technology stack and quickly fixing it in such a way that the error of one area does not affect the entire software.

The following are how full-stack developers help in managing technical debt:

Consistent Coding Standard 

Writing clear and readable codes reduces the chances of technical debts in the long run. A full-stack developer ensures that the codes follow a consistent coding standard, which will prevent unnecessary complexity and promote clarity.

Uniformity in Communication

A full-stack developer eliminates the communication between front-end and back-end developers, ensuring uniformity among all. Their expertise in both areas helps them in identifying potential issues in the system.

Testing and Continuous Integration 

Fullstack developers ensure that new changes do not introduce new bugs and errors that degrade the performance of the system. They conduct automated testing and integrate continuous integration pipelines. This helps to reduce software development costs by minimizing rework.

Maintaining Speed and Quality 

While meeting the deadlines is important, at the same time, when adding new features, full-stack developers understand that rushing the process will only increase the technical debt. They ensure a good balance between speed and quality so that for the sake of short-term gains, it doesn’t lead to a long-term burden.

Scalable Architecture

Full-stack developers have a futuristic vision; their role is to design a scalable architecture for the future. They build solutions that are both easy to expand and maintain, which minimizes the need for quick fixes.

What are the Causes of Technical Debt?

Technical debt arises due to several reasons, but mostly, it occurs because of short-term goals that generally overshadow long-term sustainability. Below are some common causes:

Tight Deadlines

When the deadlines start approaching and the developers get pressured, they may take shortcuts in coding, testing, and designing. This results in incomplete and messy codes that need to be fixed in the future. Proper support and planning from a software development service provider can help in mitigating such rushed practices.

Neglecting Testing 

When software doesn’t go through enough testing, it becomes difficult to fix the bugs and safely update the system, which increases the risk of tech debt. Hence it is important to get a unit and automated testing done to maintain the software quality and fasten the development cycle.

Low-Quality Codes

Writing codes in a rushed manner makes the code inconsistent, and poor documentation can make the code database complex and confusing. Over a period of time, these practices create issues and hurdles for future agile development.

Improperly Planning

Ignoring long-term or inadequate planning can create difficulty in expanding or updating the system as the new need arises. Without proper planning, the developers’ team may make a decision that leads to inefficiency and technical debt. To avoid this, you should hire full-stack developers from a professional web app development company that follows agile, sprint-based, planning and methodology, which is common in software engineering.

Skill Gap of Developers

When the developers don’t possess the necessary skills and knowledge and they lack experience, they tend to use subpar solutions. And sometimes the developers are not being trained in new tools and technologies preventing them from using the most efficient method. 

Type of Technical Debt

As per the nature, impact, and cause, there are different types of technical debt. Here are the different types of technical debt : 

1. Unintentional Debt

This kind of debt happens due to a lack of knowledge, experience, and expertise. For instance, the developer uses a suboptimal code without knowing or anticipating future issues in the system due to the inferior quality of the codes.

2. Intentional Debt

This generally happens when the developers find a quicker way to meet the deadlines, like when they skip writing codes or do any quick fixes to achieve short-term goals.

3. Testing Debt

Testing debt arises due to inadequate testing or reliance on manual testing processes. This will increase the likelihood of bugs and unpredictable behavior during deployment.

4. Process Debt

Due to inefficiency or outdatedness of workflow slowing down the full-stack development process. It includes manual deployment, poor communication, and lack of version control.

5. Infrastructural Debt

This type of technical debt relates to the underlying infrastructure on which software runs. Due to infrastructural debt cloud configuration, server, and database are not optimized, or updated. It can lead to performance issues, scalability challenges in the future, and increased operational costs. 

6. Documentation Debt 

Documentation debt refers to incomplete, outdated diagrams and missing user guides, which can hinder the work of team members with the system. Also, it reduces operational efficiency and leads to inconsistent implementation of work.

5 Full stack developers’ Best Practices for Avoiding Technical Debt

Writing Scalable and Maintainable codes

Creating a scalable and maintainable code is a main requirement for the long-term success of software development. Full-stack developers should focus on the modularity of codes, reusable components, meaningful variable names, and proper indentation. They can use techniques like Don’t Repeat Yourself (DRY) codes or use the modern framework, which reduces the technical debt.

Using Version Control and Code Review

A regular code review helps ensure code quality and detect potential errors at an earlier stage. A peer review promotes collaboration and ensures that multiple opinions ensure that the code’s quality can be maintained. And to manage the changes in the code base, version control systems like Git are invaluable.

Continuous Learning and Upskilling 

Continuous learning, attending workshops, enrolling in online courses, and exploring hands-on projects help developers to stay competitive. With a technological change, full-stack developers should stay updated with the latest technology and methods and upskill themselves.

Regular Refactoring and Optimize Code Base

Over a period of time, certain systems become outdated and overly difficult, and regular refactoring can help ensure that the codes remain efficient and easy to write. Continuous optimization of codes improves performance and reduces the risk of technical debt.

Importance of Documentation and Testing 

It is important to provide clear inline comments, maintain API documentation, and include user guides for smooth onboarding or troubleshooting. Robust testing practices such as unit testing, integration testing, and end-to-end testing should be implemented. Documentation significantly minimizes the bugs and debugs the system.

Why Choose CMARIX to Hire Full-Stack Developer for Resolving Technical Debt?

Choosing CMARIX ensures efficient solutions to address technical debt, enabling long-lasting performance, scalability, and maintainability. We have a team of expert full-stack developers who excel in identifying and resolving technical debt across both the front end and back end.

CMARIX adopts industry best practices of code review, documentation, and refactoring, optimizing the code base and removing efficiency. By utilizing their expertise, you not only resolve the technical debt, but they also establish a process to prevent it in the future.

Conclusion

Technical debt in software development is very important, but its impact can be either managed or it can create a development nightmare. For organizations trying to form a balance between rapid development and quality coding, the solution is clear: Hire Full Stack Developers, with their expertise in technical debt, can prevent it. Their holistic approach helps in managing the project and delivering quality solutions.

FAQ on Technical Debt