Why Engineers Spend More Time Fixing Than Building (And How to Change That)
You became a software engineer to build. To innovate. To solve real problems with elegant code.
But somewhere along the way, the thrill of creation started fading under the weight of bugs, technical debt, and never-ending patch cycles. Sound familiar?
You’re not alone. Studies show that engineers spend 40–50% of their time maintaining systems rather than building new ones. While fixes are important, this imbalance comes at a cost lost innovation, burnout, and business stagnation.
So why does this cycle persist and more importantly, how do we break it?
The Harsh Reality of Modern Engineering Work
Despite expectations of building cool features and pushing digital boundaries, here’s how most engineering time is actually spent:
A 2019 Stripe Developer Report revealed that developers lose more than 17 hours a week to debugging and refactoring. This isn’t just inefficient it’s "expensive."
Why Are We Always Fixing? Let’s Break It Down
1. Technical Debt Piling Up:- Quick releases win short-term battles, but rushed code with poor architecture adds up fast. Even tech giants like Twitter and Meta have admitted to stalling innovation just to deal with internal tech debt.
2. Insufficient QA & Testing:- No (or poor) automation = bugs slipping through the cracks. Without preventive testing systems, teams get stuck in reactive loops.
3. Lack of Documentation & Legacy Systems:- Poor documentation turns code into a puzzle. Without clarity, new developers waste hours understanding old logic instead of building fresh features.
4. Operational Overload:- Engineers juggling DevOps, IT support, and infrastructure responsibilities have less time and mental bandwidth to innovate.
Fixing the Fixing Culture: 5 Practical Shifts
Here’s how businesses can enable engineers to build, not just patch:
1. Invest in Automated Testing & QA:- Use CI/CD pipelines, unit tests, and integration testing to catch bugs early before they snowball.
2. Prioritize Code Refactoring:- Block dedicated time for cleanup. Clean code saves future time and effort.
3. Outsource Non-Core IT Tasks:- Infrastructure support, testing, and maintenance? Let expert teams handle them. Free your in-house engineers to focus on what matters.
4. Document Everything:- Internal wikis, updated code comments, and regular knowledge-sharing sessions can save weeks over the year.
5. Equip with the Right Tools:- DevOps automation, cloud platforms, and AI-powered debugging tools can drastically reduce manual fixing time.
Final Thoughts
Engineering should be about building the future, not constantly fixing the past. If your team is stuck in a cycle of endless patches, it’s time to step back and rethink the strategy.
Reduce the noise. Remove the blockers. Refocus on what matters: innovation.
What about you? How much of your workweek goes into fixing instead of creating? Drop your thoughts in the comments let’s talk solutions!