A better way to think about technical debt is to understand that what WAS technical debt-- the residual tasks necessary to make something reasonably inexpensive to maintain and improve that come from kludging things together under time pressure-- gets FORGIVEN when the whole technology on which a product is based becomes obsolete.
Products don't become technical debt, they merely depreciate along with any aassociated technical debt. This is why I don't like the term technical debt: it implies something that must be paid back. But you don't have to pay back the "debt" on product that will be completely replaced anyway.
When I have a long list of todo items to perfect my work for a client, and then they run out of money for the whole project and end my contract. I don't say "oh no, now I'll never dot those i's and cross those t's!" I say "yay, I will cross everything off my todo list forever."
Products don't become technical debt, they merely depreciate along with any aassociated technical debt. This is why I don't like the term technical debt: it implies something that must be paid back. But you don't have to pay back the "debt" on product that will be completely replaced anyway.
When I have a long list of todo items to perfect my work for a client, and then they run out of money for the whole project and end my contract. I don't say "oh no, now I'll never dot those i's and cross those t's!" I say "yay, I will cross everything off my todo list forever."