Why Should You Worry About Technical Debt in Salesforce?

Technical debt is certain with evolving business, then why it is considered a bad thing? Technical debt becomes harmful to companies when not managed properly. As the debt continues to build, it can reach a point where it affects the development and user experience. This is why continuous debt management is imperative.

What is Salesforce Tech Debt?

Salesforce tech debt refers to the accumulation of suboptimal coding practices, configurations, and customizations in a Salesforce org over time. It can manifest in various forms, such as redundant custom code, inefficient workflows, outdated integration patterns, and poorly designed data models. These shortcuts might have been taken to meet tight deadlines, budget constraints, or limited technical expertise, resulting in a system that is not scalable, well-documented, or easily maintainable.

What Causes Salesforce Tech Debt?

• Inefficient Team: In some cases, organizations may rely on developers with limited knowledge or experience in Salesforce development best practices. This can lead to shortcuts being taken, resulting in technical debt.
• Ever-changing Requirements: Salesforce implementations are rarely static. As business needs evolve, customizations and configurations are made to adapt to these changes. However, these changes can introduce technical debt without proper planning and assessment.
• Time Constraints: In a fast-paced business environment, there is often pressure to deliver Salesforce solutions quickly. This can result in developers taking shortcuts or implementing quick fixes that can lead to technical debt.
• Lack of Documentation: Insufficient documentation of customizations and configurations can make it difficult for future development teams to understand and maintain the code. This lack of clarity can lead to further technical debt as new features are built on top of existing ones.

How to Reduce Salesforce Tech Debt?

It Starts with a Solid Team

Invest in developers who have a strong understanding of Salesforce best practices and development methodologies. Experienced developers can help ensure that coding practices are optimized for long-term maintainability.

Don’t Hold Back on Regular Reviews

Conduct regular code reviews to identify any suboptimal coding practices or patterns that can contribute to technical debt. This can help identify areas where refactoring or optimization is required.

Refactoring and Organizing

Allocate time and resources for refactoring and optimizing existing code and configurations. This can help eliminate redundant customizations and improve system performance.

Training and Education is the Way Forward

Salesforce is a dynamic platform, constantly evolving with new features and best practices. Regularly invest in training and education to keep developers up-to-date with the latest Salesforce developments and best coding practices.

Be Diligent with your Paperwork

Maintain detailed documentation of customizations, configurations, and code to facilitate future maintenance and development efforts. This can save time and effort by allowing developers to understand the system’s architecture and design easily.

What is the Impact of Salesforce Technical Debt?

• Higher Maintenance Cost: Technical debt can significantly increase the cost of maintaining Salesforce implementations. Untangling complex code, identifying and resolving issues, and making changes can be time-consuming and expensive. Addressing technical debt proactively can help reduce these costs.
• Compromised User Experience: Technical debt can impact the user experience by decreasing system performance, causing slow load times, and increasing the likelihood of errors. Users may experience frustration and inefficiency when using the system, leading to reduced productivity.
• Limited Scalability and Flexibility: A system burdened with technical debt may struggle to accommodate future business needs and changes. Technical debt can limit the system’s scalability and flexibility, making it difficult to adapt to new requirements and integrate with other systems.
• Security Risks: Technical debt can introduce security vulnerabilities into a Salesforce implementation. Unoptimized code and configurations can create loopholes that hackers can exploit, potentially compromising sensitive data and leading to costly breaches.

Technical debt in Salesforce can have significant repercussions on an organization’s efficiency, cost, and the overall customer experience. By proactively investing in proper development practices, performing regular code reviews, and proactively addressing technical debt, organizations can ensure that their Salesforce implementations remain scalable, flexible, and secure.