Technical Debt is a Vestige from an Evolutionary Process

A Process of Evolution

At its core, knowledge discovery is an evolutionary process. It mirrors biological evolution through variation and selection: generating ideas (variation) and subjecting them to criticism (selection). This iterative approach ensures that only the most robust ideas survive, driving progress toward better understanding and solutions.

Here's how this analogy works:

1. Variation of Ideas: In software development, new ideas, features, or architectural approaches emerge as variations. These are often implemented under constraints, such as time, resources, or incomplete understanding of future needs.
2. Selection of the Best: Over time, as requirements and technologies evolve or the product matures, certain approaches prove more effective, efficient, or scalable than others. This leads to the selection and refinement of the "best" solutions, akin to natural selection.

This perspective shifts the focus away from finding definitive solutions and toward fostering an environment where better questions can emerge - questions that challenge assumptions, illuminate unknowns, and lead to breakthrough discoveries.

Technical Debt as a Vestige

In this evolutionary process, earlier decisions - often made with limited information or under constraints - may not align with the current "best" solutions. These remnants of suboptimal or outdated decisions constitute technical debt. It represents the mismatch between the current understanding of what is optimal and the state of the existing code or architecture.

• Incomplete Evolution: Technical debt arises when evolution is incomplete or when decisions made during an earlier stage of evolution haven't been revisited and refined.
• Accumulated Suboptimality It embodies the remnants of past decisions that were the best at the time but no longer serve the evolving system effectively.
• Opportunity Cost: Like biological vestiges (e.g., an appendix), technical debt doesn't always harm immediately, but it can become problematic if not addressed.

We could call technical debt a “leftover” from the evolutionary process of software development. "Leftover" suggests something more accidental or discarded like food scraps, whereas "vestige" has a more precise meaning tied to historical persistence.

However, in biology, a more precise term for a "leftover" from evolution is "vestigial structure" or "vestige." These terms refer to anatomical features or traits that were functional in an organism's ancestors but have lost much or all of their original function over time due to evolutionary changes. Examples include the human appendix, wisdom teeth, or the pelvic bones in whales.

The term "vestige" conveys a sense of something that:

1. Has a historical reason for existence just like early decisions in software development.
2. Is no longer fully functional or relevant but still remains in the system.
3. May cause issues or inefficiencies if not addressed.

Similarly, technical debt represents remnants of previous decisions or implementations that are no longer optimal or fully functional given the current context.

Referring to technical debt as a "vestige" aligns well with the evolutionary view of software development, emphasizing the need for continuous refinement and adaptation to stay fit for purpose.