Hermes Bot
2.9 KiB
- for two consecutive sprints, the entire team halts feature work for one sprint to repay.
- If a single “quick fix” introduces a production incident, the debt is immediately reclassified as Reckless and must be fixed within 48 hours.
- If the team cannot articulate the maslaha (expected outcome) for a deliberate debt, the debt is automatically deemed Inadvertent and treated as Israf.
THE PROTOCOL
STEP 1: Audit Your Debt Quadrant (This Week)
Take 2 hours as a team. Open your bug tracker and code review history. For each recent shortcut, answer: “Did we plan it? Do we have a repayment date?” Assign it to one of the four quadrants. Create a single “Debt Ledger” document (Google Sheet or Notion) with columns: Type, Description, Date Incurred, Payoff Date, Interest Cost (estimated hours lost per month). PRODUCT_LEAD: Do this during your Tuesday tech review. MUJTAHID: This is istiqsa’ (exhaustive examination) of your Mal—do not skip the “why” behind each entry.
STEP 2: Create a Debt Repayment Board (This Sprint)
In your project management tool, add a “Debt Repayment” swimlane. Move all Reckless and Inadvertent items into it. Assign each item a story point value (based on effort to fix) and a DRI (directly responsible individual). Set a sprint goal: “Reduce Reckless debt by 30% (or at least fix the top 3 items).” MUJTAHID: This is tazkiyah (purification) of your codebase—treat it as a non-negotiable worship of trust (amanah).
STEP 3: Define a “Debt Covenant” for Future Sprints (This Sprint Retro)
Write a 1-page team contract:
- “We will never merge a PR without logging its debt impact in the ledger.”
- “We will never approve a deliberate debt without a written payoff sprint ID.”
- “We will review the ledger every retro and escalate any overdue item.”
PRODUCT_LEAD: Make this part of your Definition of Done. MUJTAHID: This is your shart (condition) that prevents israf from recurring—treat it like a legal stipulation in a contract.
MUHASABA (RETROSPECTIVE)
One piercing question for your next retro:
“Where are we knowingly calling Israf an ‘investment’ because admitting it’s waste would force us to change our roadmap?”
PRODUCT_LEAD: Look at the last three features you shipped. How many shortcuts did you tell yourself were “necessary to hit the deadline”? Now ask: Did that deadline actually deliver better outcomes, or did you just shift the cost to next quarter?
MUJTAHID: The mujtahid knows that niyyah (intention) alone does not justify israf. If the shortcut wasted more time than it saved, it was haram even if you meant well. Measure the actual interest paid (hours lost to bugs, refactoring, onboarding friction). Compare it to the time you “saved.” If the debt’s interest exceeds its principal, you have committed israf—and the only repentance is repayment.