What is meant by “technical debt” in software engineering?
a) The future work required to fix shortcuts or poor coding practices used to meet short-term goals
b) The financial cost of maintaining the software
c) The cost of purchasing software licenses
d) The resources needed for server maintenance
Answer:
a) The future work required to fix shortcuts or poor coding practices used to meet short-term goals
Explanation:
Technical debt refers to the additional work required to fix or refactor code that was developed using quick, suboptimal solutions to meet short-term goals. These shortcuts can lead to problems such as increased complexity, bugs, and difficulty maintaining the codebase in the future.
While technical debt allows teams to meet deadlines or deliver features faster, it accumulates over time and must eventually be “repaid” through refactoring or rewriting parts of the system.
Managing technical debt is crucial for ensuring long-term software quality and preventing future development from becoming increasingly difficult and time-consuming.