For years, technical teams have conveyed their concerns about system maintainability to their managers through the metaphor of technical debt. While it's a good way to explain what happens when technical decisions have been made to solve technical problems, non-technical people haven't always understood it well.
The result is that whenever someone talks about technical debt, it sounds like a complaint and an excuse to use new technology that may not add anything to the business.
Let's change how we talk to ensure that technical problems receive the attention they deserve.