Developers carry a heavy load when it comes to product knowledge. When things are moving fast, that knowledge fuels excitement—features ship, and the product feels like it’s making real progress. But the moment a developer raises concerns about tech debt—“If we don’t address this now, it’s going to cost us later”—the weight of that warning doesn’t land the same way.
Too often, those concerns are dismissed or deprioritized until it’s too late. By the time leadership acknowledges the problem, tech debt is now competing with major features, and the only way forward is to "figure something out." Sometimes ingenuity saves the day, but more often than not, it leads to hero work, late nights, and burnout. The developer who raised the flag months ago might not even say, “I told you so,” but they’re thinking it. That moment—the powerless feeling of watching avoidable issues snowball—is where trust erodes.
And trust doesn’t just break in one direction. Developers are expected to adjust to the shifting priorities of the business, yet when technical conversations require business stakeholders to adapt—to revisit decisions on configurations, schema, or flows—there’s resistance.
A common mindset emerges: “I don’t have to know because you know.” But if the business expects developers to deeply understand the product, wouldn’t it also help if the business understood how development actually happens?
It’s not just about closing the knowledge gap. It’s about shifting the relationship from reliance to collaboration. Because when developers trust that their insights are valued—not just when things break, but when they can prevent issues altogether—business and development move forward together.
🚀 For those in leadership: How often do you revisit technical concerns before they become urgent?
🤔 For developers: Do you feel your warnings are heard, or are they just logged for “later”?
💡 For everyone: What does trust between developers and the business look like in your organization?