In software development, technical debt (also known as design debt)  is the implied cost of additional rework caused by choosing an easy (limited) solution now instead of using a better approach that would take longer.

If technical debt is not repaid, it can accumulate “interest”, making it harder to implement changes.

Unaddressed technical debt:

• Increases the likelihood of unexpected errors and solution defects.
• Increases the cost of future rework.
• Decreases product quality.

Robert Pieper, Scrum.org Professional Scrum Trainer explains the problems technical debt causes and how can teams remove it.