What Is Salesforce Technical Debt? Proven Steps To Save Your Org

Salesforce Technical Debts

What Is Salesforce Technical Debt? Key Steps To Fix It And Boost Performance

Technical debt is one of the most significant IT concerns businesses face worldwide. According to the  2024-25 Global CTO Survey, 91% of CTOs worldwide agree with this sentiment.

It occurs when development teams go for speed delivery due to top management pressure. Over time, unchecked technical debt in Salesforce can eventually result in deployment inefficiencies, security risks, and increased operational costs. It can also worsen things by diverting the money reserved for innovation.

Despite these serious repercussions, organizations spend about 20% or less of their IT budget on managing it.

However, the fundamental concern is how we can keep the Salesforce technical debt under control.

In this blog post, we have covered practical strategies to reduce and prevent technical debt in Salesforce development.

But first, what is technical debt in Salesforce, and why should you care about it?

What Is Technical Debt In Salesforce?

Think of technical debts as shortcuts to reach your destination faster but at the risk of potholes and dead ends. It happens when developers opt for quick fixes instead of long-term, sustainable solutions, often to meet tight deadlines or launch products faster.

At first, these shortcuts may seem harmless, but over time, they pile up, leading to:

  • Outdated codes
  • Maintenance nightmares for developers
  • Costly reworks for management

Like financial debt, the longer you ignore it, the harder it becomes to manage.

Eventually, teams end up spending more time fixing issues than innovating, which slows down progress and impacts business growth.

The common causes leading to Salesforce technical debt are:

  • Rushed Deployments: When the focus is more on quick fixes to meet delivery deadlines rather than quality deployment.
  • Lack of documentation: A lack of documents can create confusion for new members to understand codes.
  • Lack of communication: IT staff are no gods. When information is not shared within the IT team, misunderstandings occur.
  • Excessive Customizations: Going beyond standard features can make it harder to upgrade and maintain, thus impacting performance.

7 Smart Strategies To Reduce Technical Debt In Salesforce

Technical debt is inevitable, but intelligent management can prevent it from spiraling out of control. The following are the top 7 strategies that can be used to reduce as well as avoid future technical debts:

Start Planning For Tech Debt

Ignoring is never an option. First, start by acknowledging that technical debt is inevitable and plan for it. A proactive approach is needed.

  • Conduct a Salesforce technical debt assessment to identify weak points.
  • Regularly audit your codebase to spot issues early.
  • Create a structured debt reduction plan.
  • Start by advocating for a quality-first development culture in our organization.
  • Use Salesforce Health Check to evaluate security vulnerabilities and inefficiencies.

Work On Salesforce Updates

Salesforce releases multiple updates each year, and staying current is essential.

  • Use tools like DevOps Center to streamline upgrades and minimize disruptions.
  • “You can’t fix what you can’t see.” Monitoring and tracking code debt is a must.

Fill The Gaps With AppExchange

Rather than building from scratch, use pre-built solutions available on the Salesforce AppExchange.

  • Find ready-made apps like MuleSoft and Zapier that integrate seamlessly with Salesforce, saving time and effort.
  • Use Tableau CRM for its ready-to-use dashboards.
Salesforce Technical Debt

Document Every Process

How can you improve your system if you cannot understand what went wrong with any process, code, or metadata? This is why you need to pen everything down.

  • Have a technical debt ledger and write records of configurations, customizations, and workflows.
  • Regularly update your documentation with new additions to ensure accuracy in each process.
  • Developers spend 13.5 hours per week (33% of their time) resolving technical debt. That’s a lot. Tools like Jira can help you track the time spent on technical debt-related tasks.

Improve Developer Collaboration And Code Management

Good coding practices and teamwork can significantly reduce technical debt.

  • Enforce Code Reviews: Peer reviews help in catching inefficiencies early.
  • Build team consensus: Ensure everyone (developers, stakeholders, finance, and other departments) is in the same loop. For that, start having regular discussions, meetings, and transparent communication systems.
  • Support the right people: Encourage and reward developers who contribute positively to teamwork and code quality. A recognition system can boost morale and productivity.
  • Use Version Control Systems: Teams using Salesforce DX manage code changes more effectively. Version control allows teams to track, manage, and revert code changes when needed.
  • Standardize Coding Practices: Encourage developers to follow Salesforce coding guidelines.

Automate Testing And Deployment

Many developers mistakenly think that testing comes at the end of all processes. However, it is not so. The smart ones employ automated testing at each stage to catch issues early and save time and resources.

  • Write Test Cases Early: Develop test cases in the early stages of software development.
  • Integrate Testing in the CI/CD Pipeline: Continuous integration ensures that code changes don’t break existing functionality.
  • Regularly Review and Update Tests: Ensure test coverage evolves with new features.

Plan The Future

Don’t let technical debt slow your growth—manage it alongside new development. When planning for the future, start by:

  • Setting realistic deadlines that allow for both innovation and refactoring.
  • Aligning business and tech teams to ensure long-term sustainability.
  • Planning for future scalability. Design solutions that can grow with your business needs.

Stop Accumulating Debt—Start Optimizing Today!

Overloading your IT infrastructure with technical debt is going to cost your organization in the long run in terms of:

  • Missed revenue opportunities.
  • Disruptions and increased complexity of core operations.
  • Loss of market share.
  • Frustrated customers.
  • Unproductive developers fixing bugs and errors.

Now is the time to stop ignoring it by adopting our proven mitigation strategies for Salesforce technical debt. The earlier you invest, the better fruits you reap in the future.

Don't know how to start working on technical debt? Hire our Salesforce consulting experts and let them handle everything for you.

As certified Salesforce partners, we help businesses like yours optimize Salesforce environments, reduce technical debt, and enhance productivity. Don’t let inefficiencies hold you back—contact Minuscule Technologies today.

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