UX Glossary Process & Methods

Technical Debt

Process & Methods

The cumulative consequence of expedient implementation choices that create future rework — shipping code or design that works now but is harder to maintain, extend, or correct later. For designers, the equivalent involves inconsistent patterns, undocumented decisions, and workarounds that don't integrate cleanly with the design system, silently degrading the product experience over time.

Related Terms

Design Debt Design System Iterative Design Pattern Inventory
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