This is the second article in our “Reduce & Renew” series on managing technical debt in Salesforce.
The Hidden Cost of What You Can’t See
Technical debt is often invisible until it causes a problem. Like a pin hole leak in a pipe in a house, it quietly grows until performance issues, maintenance challenges, or business limitations suddenly appear in your Salesforce org. The first step in addressing this debt is making it visible.
#NuAgeExperts offers a ‘Triple Point Inspection’ package which identifies tech debt. Talk to us today!
How to Identify Technical Debt in Salesforce
1. Metadata Analysis
Start by examining your org’s metadata. Metadata is the data about data and configuration. Think structure, customization, and functionality. Here are some examples;
- Fields that are rarely or never used (especially those with low fill rates)
- Duplicative fields capturing the same or similar data
- Flows and Process Builders (if you still have PB’s) that have similar functions or were poorly designed
- Apex triggers/classes without proper bulkification and/or poor test coverage
- Orphaned automation that no longer serves a clear purpose
2. Performance Evaluation
Monitor your org’s performance metrics to spot symptoms of underlying technical debt:
- Slow page load times on specific record pages
- Report timeouts or excessive processing times
- Batch job failures or slower-than-expected completion times
- Governor limit warnings in debug logs
- API volumes approaching limits
- Email limits reached
3. User Experience Assessment
Some of the most valuable indicators come from your users:
- Recurring user complaints about specific features
- Workarounds users have developed to accomplish basic tasks
- Repeated training issues around the same functionality
- Abandoned features that were built but are no longer used
AppExchange Tools That Uncover Technical Debt
Several powerful tools from the AppExchange can accelerate the tech debt discovery & monitoring process along with leveraging a consulting partner, like #NuAgeExperts. Below are just a couple to check out.
Hubbl Diagnostics
- Hubbl Diagnostics: This game-changing solution leverages an AI recommendation engine and processes billions of business metadata inputs to provide rich visualizations and predictive intelligence for business growth on Salesforce.
- Hubbl Process Analytics: This feature transforms abstract data into interactive visualizations, revealing the true operation of your business processes.
Nebula Logger
- Easily log entries via Apex, Lightning Components (both LWC and Aura), Flow, and Process Builder to generate one consolidated log per platform transaction.
Prioritize What You Find
Not all technical debt is created equal. After identification, prioritize your findings based on:
- Business Impact: How significantly does this debt affect core business processes?
- Growth Limitation: Is this debt preventing planned expansion or new feature adoption?
- Maintenance Burden: How much admin time is spent managing workarounds?
- User Friction: How severely does this debt impact the daily user experience?
- Technical Risk: What is the likelihood of failure or significant issues?
Creating Your Technical Debt Registry
Document your findings in a Technical Debt Registry with these key components:
- Debt Item: Clear description of the issue
- Category: Type of debt (e.g., data, automation, UI)
- Impact Score: Quantified business impact
- Effort Estimate: Rough assessment of remediation effort
- Risk Level: Potential for business disruption
- Dependencies: Related systems or processes
- Recommended Approach: Initial thoughts on resolution
Next Steps
Once you’ve identified and prioritized your technical debt, you’re ready for the planning phase. In our next article, we’ll dive into “Research & Plan” – how to design sustainable alternatives to your technical debt items and create a roadmap for implementation.
NuAge Experts is a senior consulting partner offering a ‘Triple Point Inspection’ package to identify tech debt and strategize with you on next steps. Talk to us today!
