Establishing a proper QA process

Setting up a rigorous quality assurance (QA) process contributes to improving code quality.

With a structured QA process, you can detect potential issues before they escalate, making the refactoring process smoother. The synergy between refactoring and QA fosters an effective development environment.

Tracking technical debt

Treat technical debt tasks as any other development project in your team’s backlog. Keeping it in the mix with your regular work ensures it’s on your radar, preventing it from slipping through the cracks.

Think of tracking technical debt like organising your daily to-do list or weekly sprints. If you treat it the same way you handle other assingments, it won’t get overlooked, and you’ll always have a developer ready to make the necessary fixes.

Setting coding best practices

To mitigate technical debt, developers must follow common code etiquette and standards. These practices are often informal (and personal), so what can you do as a CTO to ensure everyone in your tech team is on the same page?

Consider establishing an internal set of guidelines and keep them in a place where developers can easily access them. Then, train developers on the coding best practices you’ve built.

After that, you can set an action plan to reduce technical debt. This process involves allocating specific times for team code clean-up efforts, favouring a step-by-step approach rather than tackling the entire debt at once.

Performing code reviews

Code reviews provide a fresh look, catching typos and bugs that might be missed in software development. It helps prevent the buildup of technical debt by addressing issues early on.

Performing these reviews ensures a thorough testing process, reducing the chances of long-term recurring problems and avoiding hidden issues in the final product.

Partnering with an offshore company

Collaborating with an offshore development company is a smart way to reduce technical debt.

Why? Onboarding overseas talent not only brings new ideas and skills to your team but also enhances your business capacity to resolve issues faster and more efficiently.

Adopting a high-value offshoring approach means you can assemble a larger development and QA team stocked with top-class engineers. And unlike their Western counterparts, they will stay for the long term, preventing knowledge loss.