Most technical problems are people problems
6 days ago
- #leadership
- #technical-debt
- #software-development
- The author worked at a company with significant technical debt, including outdated frameworks and no unit tests.
- A project required porting Windows-only modules to Linux, leading to duplicated codebases—a major maintenance issue.
- Tech debt projects are hard to sell to management because they don’t visibly improve functionality.
- The author realized the problem was more about people than technology—developers resistant to change perpetuated outdated practices.
- Technical debt often stems from people problems: unclear requirements, unrealistic deadlines, comfort with outdated tech, and ego.
- Refactoring efforts were undermined because the broader team continued writing code in outdated ways.
- The engineer’s ideal of solving problems in a vacuum (ignoring politics and deadlines) is unrealistic in most workplaces.
- Non-technical stakeholders need clear communication about the value of tech debt cleanup.
- Senior engineers must collaborate cross-functionally, balancing technical skills with interpersonal awareness.
- The 'heads-up coder'—someone technical but also aware of project risks—is as valuable as deeply specialized engineers.