Skip to content

Repository Intelligence

Technical Debt Interest Estimator

Estimate the recurring time cost of a workaround, and how many months until fixing it properly would have paid for itself.

/month
hrs
hrs (one-time)

Payback period

Fixing this properly pays for itself in 2.7 months

Beyond this point, leaving it unfixed costs more than the one-time fix would have.

Monthly "interest" paid6.0 hrs/month
One-time fix cost16.0 hrs
Payback period2.7 months

Monthly interest = touches/month × extra hours per touch. Payback period = hours to fix properly ÷ monthly interest hours. A rough estimation aid, not an exact accounting figure.