Technical Debt Skill

Technical debt is not a bug, it's a financial metaphor. Like financial debt, some debt is strategic ("ship now, refactor later") and some is accidental ("we didn't know better"). Both accumulate interest — slowing down future development. This skill covers measuring, prioritizing, and paying down debt systematically.

When to Activate

• Planning a tech-debt sprint or "hardening" quarter
• A team feels slow but can't point to what's wrong
• Communicating the cost of technical debt to non-technical stakeholders
• Deciding whether to pay down debt or continue building features
• Running a tech debt audit before a major new initiative

The Debt Quadrant (Ward Cunningham + Martin Fowler)