How do you balance trade-offs between technical debt and delivery?

Short answer: I assess the risk and cost of the debt. If it’s minor (like a code smell in a non-critical module), I log it as tech debt in Jira and schedule it post-release. But if it's something like skipping unit tests for a new payment flow—I push back, because the long-term risk is too high. I always try to make tech debt visible to stakeholders, so they understand the trade-offs being made.

Real-world example (ShopNest)

Managers care that you communicate early, protect quality, and help the ShopNest team deliver predictably.

Say this in the interview

1. Define — one clear sentence (the short answer above).
2. Example — relate it to a project like ShopNest or your real work.
3. Trade-off — when you would not use it.