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The software industry's struggle
Software is the backbone of modern organizations. It powers innovation, supports operations, and enables agility in a fast-changing world. Yet, for all its transformative potential, managing software remains a persistent challenge.
Codebases start small and manageable but quickly grow into sprawling, complex systems. Developers wrestle with tangled dependencies, rising maintenance costs, and sluggish delivery timelines. In many organizations, firefighting becomes the norm, leaving little room for proactive improvement. For decades, the industry has relied on the metaphor of technical debt to describe these challenges, but the concept of technical health offers a more forward-looking, empowering way to approach the problem.
Technical debt: A familiar metaphor
The term technical debt was introduced by Ward Cunningham, who likened shortcuts in software development to financial debt. He explained, “Shipping first-time code is like going into debt. A little debt speeds development so long as it is paid back promptly with a rewrite.”
The metaphor resonated because it captured a universal truth: taking shortcuts in software design delivers short-term benefits but incurs long-term costs. Over time, as the “interest” compounds, development slows, bugs accumulate, and maintenance costs skyrocket.
But while technical debt is a useful concept, it has limitations:
It focuses on the past—mistakes made, shortcuts taken—rather than future potential.
It frames the issue as reactive (“paying off debt”) rather than proactive (“building strength”).
It doesn’t fully capture the dynamic, living nature of software systems.
That’s where the concept of technical health comes in.
Technical health: A better way to think about software
Introduced by Declan Whelan, technical health reframes the conversation. Instead of viewing software as a liability to be managed, it treats codebases as living systems that can be nurtured, strengthened, and optimized.
Imagine your codebase as a human body. To thrive, it needs to:
Grow and evolve,
Fight entropy,
Stay highly ordered and fit for purpose, and
Adapt to changing demands.
A healthy codebase supports innovation, resists defects, and evolves gracefully over time. By focusing on fitness rather than “debt repayment,” technical health encourages proactive care—like regular refactoring, modularization, and testing—that keeps systems resilient and ready for the future.
As Carliss Baldwin, co-founder of Silverthread, says, “Healthy systems not only support development today but prepare organizations for tomorrow’s challenges. Investing in technical health early pays dividends in agility, productivity, and longevity.”
Why a health metaphor works
The health metaphor works because it aligns so well with the realities of managing software systems:
Proactive care: Just as regular exercise and checkups keep your body fit, ongoing investments in technical health keep your codebase in top shape.
Resilience: A healthy body can resist disease and recover from setbacks. A healthy codebase can do the same—handling new demands without breaking.
Multi-level care: Just as doctors consider both the body as a whole and its individual cells, technical health applies to the entire system, its components, and even individual lines of code.
The dangers of an unhealthy codebase
When technical health is neglected, the results can be disastrous—not just for the software but for the people and organizations relying on it. Here are some common signs of an unhealthy codebase:
Growing cyclicality: The cancer of the codebase. Cyclicality, where parts of the system become tightly coupled, is the cancer of the codebase. Like a tumor, it spreads silently and makes changes risky and unpredictable.Impact: Developers waste time untangling dependencies, progress slows, and the system becomes nearly impossible to evolve.
Code quality problems: Sick cells and organs. Poorly written code is like damaged cells or organs. Just as failing organs affect overall health, bad code drags down the performance of the entire system.Impact: Bugs increase, fixes take longer, and developers struggle to work effectively.
Duplication: The obesity of the codebase. Duplication is like excess weight. While some “fat” is natural, too much duplication burdens the system.Impact: Maintaining redundant code wastes resources and increases the likelihood of errors.
An untested codebase: A poorly trained athlete. An untested codebase is like an athlete who skips practice but expects to perform on game day. Without proper testing, the system collapses under pressure.Impact: Bugs grow unchecked, regressions multiply, and development slows to a crawl.
Properties of a healthy codebase
A healthy codebase has several key characteristics, similar to those of a fit, resilient body:
Strong architecture: The skeleton and ligaments of the system are modular, layered, and well-structured.
Clear visibility: Everyone understands the system’s design, and the code aligns with its intended architecture.
Lean and efficient: Duplication is minimized, and the system uses shared solutions wherever possible.
Robust testing: A strong “immune system” prevents defects and ensures bugs are caught early.
Evolvability: The system can adapt to new demands without requiring massive overhauls.
Measuring and managing technical health
At Silverthread, we believe the key to improving technical health lies in measuring what matters. With thousands of potential metrics available, it’s critical to focus on those that have a proven impact on outcomes. Our approach prioritizes metrics that are:
Theoretically sound: Metrics like modularity and test coverage reflect critical aspects of technical health.
Backed by evidence: Metrics correlate strongly with business outcomes like productivity and defect rates.
Actionable: Metrics point to specific actions that improve the codebase.
Benchmarked: Metrics provide context by comparing your system to industry peers.
Real-world examples of technical health in action
The U.S. Air Force:By analyzing technical health, the Air Force discovered a legacy system so degraded that $860,000 of every $1 million spent would have been wasted. Armed with this insight, they redirected resources and achieved a 20X return on investment.
Global logistics leader:By addressing architectural flaws, this organization reduced delivery timelines by 30% and significantly cut maintenance costs.
Financial services firm:Through benchmarking, the firm identified redundant systems and retired unviable platforms, saving millions while improving developer productivity.
Final thought: take your codebase to the gym
Technical health doesn’t happen by accident. Like the human body, it requires regular attention and care. By investing in practices that promote fitness—modularization, testing, refactoring—you can build systems that are:
Stronger: Able to handle new demands without breaking.
Faster: Supporting efficient development and delivery.
More resilient: Minimizing bugs and recovering quickly from issues.
The future of software management isn’t about fixing what’s broken—it’s about building systems that thrive. So, let’s stop thinking about “paying down debt” and start taking our codebases to the gym. A healthier system isn’t just better for developers—it’s better for your organization and its future.
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