rgw@icdattcwsm:~/Blog$ cat 2024-09-25-In-Combatting-Tech-Debt-Communication-May-Be-Key-But-Negotiation-is-the-Goal.md

No is a complete sentence. And the true quality of a technical project manager is not his 'will-do'-ability, but his ability to use NO (and just NO) to kill off great ideas - towards the elimination of tech debt.

Its easy to say no, when the business idea is low impact. So, that shouldn't be factored in assessing the value add of technical project managers. The real litmus test is - can he kill of great and fantastic ideas to maintain the team's focus on the task at hand? 

Unless the competing idea (to be killed) is 10x better than what is currently being coded, technical project managers can't be adeqately assessed.

There is a common tendency to trivalize tech debt as what happens when you take shortcuts in writing your code. This couln't be more incorrect. Tech debt has its roots in sheer spinelessness. That meeting, which should have killed off the work requirement, lingers on a stench of pretentious commitment just for the sake of it.

Communication may be key, but negotiation must be the goal.

rgw@icdattcwsm:~/Blog$ cd ..