When is technical debt actually debt?
Why not all old code is technical debt, and how to prioritize what really matters.
Calling every piece of old code technical debt makes decisions harder. If code has worked unchanged for years and does not slow development, it may simply be old.
Make the cost visible
Technical debt is a decision that repeatedly increases the cost of future change. Recurring failures or small features taking weeks are strong signals.
Small, measurable steps
Evaluating debt by change frequency, impact, and return on improvement creates sustainable progress instead of another large rewrite.