> If you can show you can prioritize business value then it is easier to convince management
If your management needs 'convincing' then there's a problem.
Either the manager is technical enough to know whether a particular set of work is the right thing to do or not, in which case they don't need convincing. Or they're not, in which case they should defer to the engineer and also not need convincing.
The only managers who need 'convincing' on technical matters are technically inept individuals who nonetheless attempt to micromanage technical decision making. They are no more able to link business value to technical decisions than the engineers you say you distrust. Fire them.
> Engineers don't generally enjoy paying off technical debt, it's a chore. But they recognise that it must be done sometimes.
I disagree. Most engineers I work with like refactoring. It’s usually well defined work with clear metrics for success. It can also reduce daily pain if it makes delicate/messy code much easier to work with.
The problem with refactoring is that its only value is in improved execution of future projects. So it can be extremely valuable or completely useless. It depends on how likely the refactored things are to be worked on again.
If your management needs 'convincing' then there's a problem.
Either the manager is technical enough to know whether a particular set of work is the right thing to do or not, in which case they don't need convincing. Or they're not, in which case they should defer to the engineer and also not need convincing.
The only managers who need 'convincing' on technical matters are technically inept individuals who nonetheless attempt to micromanage technical decision making. They are no more able to link business value to technical decisions than the engineers you say you distrust. Fire them.