As an engineer, you have more power than you think

I consistently receive requests from the team to reduce tech debt. Every time, I say similar things. I want to share them here.

As a software engineer, you have more power than you think.

When you’re coding for a new feature, you have the power to refactor a specific part of the codebase. You don’t need any permission.

When you see that reducing debt in a specific part of the codebase makes the next engineer’s job faster and the results are visible quickly, you have the power to reduce tech debt. You don’t need any permission.

When you recognize that changing a system’s architecture can enhance its reliability, maintainability, extensibility, or availability, you have the power to devise a structured solution and implementation plan, rather than waiting for divine permission.

When you see that changing something in the codebase or in the tools we use will reduce cognitive load or maintenance efforts, you have the power to do so. You don’t need permission.

Most of these things don’t need to be a separate work ticket with estimations. You can easily embed all of these into your existing work. If you are punished for doing something like that, then you’re in the wrong environment.

Don’t forget, as an engineer, you make most of the decisions of organizations, although they might seem trivial at first glance. Each decision you make every day affects the future of the organization you’re in.