The role of technical debt in software development

Abstract

Technical debt refers to a concept in software development where extra development work arises, through intentional decision or unintentional side-effect, when code that is easy to implement in short-run is used instead of applying the best overall solution. Technical debt is an essential part of software development, which has to be acknowledged by software companies. The goal of this is thesis is to address the role of technical debt in software and software development. Empirical research methodologies are applied in the study. The data has been collected through case studies and semi-structured interviews with practitioners from software development teams. The research process consisted of one preliminary phase and three main phases. In the preliminary phase, the existing literature on technical debt and technical debt management was examined. In the first main phase, the causes and effects of technical debt were studied. The second main phase focused on technical debt management practices. The third main phase aimed at developing and testing technical debt management processes. The results of the study revealed multiple examples indicating that technical debt is a relevant phenomenon in software engineering. Several reasons and causes for technical debt were identified, and the results indicated that there is not one specific reason for companies to have technical debt in software. In addition, several short-term and longterm effects of technical debt, both beneficial and detrimental, were identified. The results were used to develop a technical debt management framework, which describes the activities, practices, tools, stakeholders and responsibilities related to technical debt management. The findings complement the current technical debt state-of-the-art by providing empirical evidence and knowledge on the causes and effects of technical debt from both the technical and the organizational perspective. The results can be used by software development companies to improve their knowledge on the role of technical debt in management, and the developed technical debt management framework and its processes can be used to increase the visibility and manageability of technical debt.