Definition
Technical debt is a metaphor for the future workload that arises when shortcuts are taken in development - temporary solutions, undocumented code, lack of tests or outdated dependencies. The term was coined by Ward Cunningham in 1992. Debt accumulates when development teams prioritise speed over quality, and the 'interest' is paid in the form of more time spent on bug fixes and slower delivery of new functionality. In energy IT, technical debt is especially critical because systems such as KISCustomer Information System - the core system at power suppliers and grid companies for customer management and billing., MDMMeter Data Management - system for collection, storage, quality assurance and distribution of metering data from the electricity grid. and SCADASupervisory Control and Data Acquisition - system for real-time monitoring and control of industrial processes. are business-critical and have requirements for 24/7/365 operations.