Most associations know their technology isn’t perfect. Whose really is? The harder part is understanding exactly what that imperfection is costing them.
This piece, published in ASAE’s Associations Now and co-authored by Ellipsis Partners’ own Rhoni Rakos alongside Evan Reid and Tracie Harris, walks through what technical debt actually is, why it compounds quietly, and how associations can calculate the real cost of standing still in dollars and staff hours — not just frustration.
The four-step model Rhoni and her co-authors introduce is practical and grounded. It moves from documenting what you have, to evaluating the impact, to envisioning what’s possible, to making the case for change with numbers that leadership can actually act on. The email marketing case study alone is worth the read. It puts a $575,000 annual price tag on a problem many organizations treat as a minor inconvenience.
If your association is running on workarounds, delaying upgrades, or wondering why strategic initiatives keep hitting the same friction, this piece will help you name what’s happening and build the case for doing something about it.
→ Read the full article on ASAE’s Associations Now
Thinking through your own technical debt? Rhoni works through exactly this kind of problem with association leaders and would love to connect.
