Process Debt as Real as Technical Debt: A Minimalist’s Audit
You know the feeling. You’re three hours into a Tuesday, and you’ve done nothing but forward emails and sit in a meeting that should’ve been an email. The work that actually matters? Still waiting. That’s process debt. It’s the invisible tax you pay every time you follow a rule that made sense two years ago but now just eats time. And it’s as real as technical debt — the code you’ll have to fix later. But unlike tech debt, process debt doesn’t get a ticket in your backlog. It just sits there, slowing you down. When Process Debt Hits, You Feel It Every Day The Quiet Cost of 'How We've Always Done It' You feel it at 9:47 AM on a Tuesday. The approval chain for a simple content update requires three sign-offs, two Slack pings, and one passive-aggressive email. Everyone hates it. Nobody changes it.