Hossein Dehnavifard Power Tech

 In a recent leadership meeting, the topic of technical debt came up repeatedly. At first, it sounded heavy — like something buried deep in code or system architecture. But as the discussion unfolded, I realized that technical debt is actually about something very simple: trade-offs and communication . ⏳ What Technical Debt Really Means Technical debt occurs whenever we take shortcuts to move faster — skipping documentation, reusing older designs, or delaying testing. Think of it like borrowing time today, knowing we’ll have to “pay it back” later. Deliberate technical debt is intentional: everyone knows the trade-off, documents it, and plans to resolve it later. Inadvertent (or inferred) technical debt happens accidentally, often due to miscommunication, unclear requirements, or lack of information. In safety-critical industries like aviation, some debts may be minor, affecting only efficiency or maintainability. Others can affect safety, reliability, or regulatory ...

  System engineering has traditionally been a structured, document-heavy discipline focused on requirements, architecture, and verification. While this rigor is essential, it often clashes with the fast-paced, iterative nature of Agile development. The challenge is clear: how do we keep the discipline of systems engineering while still moving at the speed of Agile? That’s where Azure DevOps (ADO) and the right process design become powerful enablers. 🔑 The Role of Process A well-defined process is as important as the tools we use. In many organizations, project managers become the central hub for communication, coordination, and reporting. While this seems logical, it can create a bottleneck —all decisions, updates, and tracking pass through a single role. This slows down the team, reduces agility, and limits engineers’ ability to adapt quickly. By contrast, if systems engineers take on a larger share of responsibility for defining, linking, and managing requirements and de...