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My standard for tech debt:

- Unnecessary (too many or too heavy) dependencies that can be replaced by DIY code, or at least, smaller dependencies.

- Implementations that stray from the standard set by the rest of the code in the project or actual guidelines written by a project leader (e.g., we don't use jsdoc anywhere but a developer randomly crams it in during a copypasta).

- Over-complicated implementations that serve as an ego-pleasing flex for the author, but are impossible for even an experienced developer to reason through.

- Implementations that were done to service a single customer in pursuit of short-term revenue, or, that were rushed through due to manager/stakeholder panic and inevitably collide with one of the above.

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Keep those three in check and you'll have limited issues.

Edit: a good talk by Oliver Reichenstein (of iA Writer fame) that helped me years ago https://vimeo.com/102343006 -- it's from a design perspective but has parallels to development. One quote of his that constantly pings in my head: "slow the fuck down."



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