Technical Debt
Tech Debt · Code Debt · Design Debt
In computer programming, the extra development work (debt) that arises when code that is easy to implement in the short run is used, instead of applying the best overall solution.
Origin
Ward Cunningham, the American programmer who invented the wiki, introduced the metaphor in 1992 at the OOPSLA conference in a report on the WyCash financial application. Cunningham needed to explain to his non-technical boss why working code sometimes needed rewriting: shipping quick-and-dirty code was like taking on financial debt — you could move faster now, but you'd pay interest later through increased development effort. The financial analogy resonated because the product itself was a financial tool.
Everyday Use
Every time a developer takes a shortcut to hit a deadline, they're borrowing against the future. Like financial debt, it accumulates interest — the quick fix makes tomorrow's changes harder, slower, and more error-prone. Eventually the team spends more time working around old shortcuts than building new features, and it's time to "pay down" the debt through refactoring.