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An exploration of technical debt

Authors:

Richard VidgenAuthors Info & Claims

Journal of Systems and Software, Volume 86, Issue 6

Pages 1498 - 1516

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2012.12.052

Published: 01 June 2013 Publication History

Abstract

Context: Whilst technical debt is considered to be detrimental to the long term success of software development, it appears to be poorly understood in academic literature. The absence of a clear definition and model for technical debt exacerbates the challenge of its identification and adequate management, thus preventing the realisation of technical debt's utility as a conceptual and technical communication device. Objective: To make a critical examination of technical debt and consolidate understanding of the nature of technical debt and its implications for software development. Method: An exploratory case study technique that involves multivocal literature review, supplemented by interviews with software practitioners and academics to establish the boundaries of the technical debt phenomenon. Result: A key outcome of this research is the creation of a theoretical framework that provides a holistic view of technical debt comprising a set of technical debts dimensions, attributes, precedents and outcomes, as well as the phenomenon itself and a taxonomy that describes and encompasses different forms of the technical debt phenomenon. Conclusion: The proposed framework provides a useful approach to understanding the overall phenomenon of technical debt for practical purposes. Future research should incorporate empirical studies to validate heuristics and techniques that will assist practitioners in their management of technical debt.

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Cited By

Prates LPereira R(2025)DevSecOps practices and toolsInternational Journal of Information Security10.1007/s10207-024-00914-z24:1Online publication date: 1-Feb-2025
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1007/s10207-024-00914-z
Perera JTempero ETu YBlincoe K(2024)A Systematic Mapping Study Exploring Quantification Approaches to Code, Design, and Architecture Technical DebtACM Transactions on Software Engineering and Methodology10.1145/367539333:7(1-44)Online publication date: 2-Jul-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3675393
Hassan ZTreude CNorrish MWilliams GPotanin Ad'Amorim M(2024)Reproducibility Debt: Challenges and Future PathwaysCompanion Proceedings of the 32nd ACM International Conference on the Foundations of Software Engineering10.1145/3663529.3663778(462-466)Online publication date: 10-Jul-2024
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Published In

cover image Journal of Systems and Software

Journal of Systems and Software Volume 86, Issue 6

June, 2013

261 pages

ISSN:0164-1212

Issue’s Table of Contents

Copyright © Elsevier Inc. © 2013.

Publisher

Elsevier Science Inc.

United States

Publication History

Published: 01 June 2013

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Cited By

Prates LPereira R(2025)DevSecOps practices and toolsInternational Journal of Information Security10.1007/s10207-024-00914-z24:1Online publication date: 1-Feb-2025
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1007/s10207-024-00914-z
Perera JTempero ETu YBlincoe K(2024)A Systematic Mapping Study Exploring Quantification Approaches to Code, Design, and Architecture Technical DebtACM Transactions on Software Engineering and Methodology10.1145/367539333:7(1-44)Online publication date: 2-Jul-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3675393
Hassan ZTreude CNorrish MWilliams GPotanin Ad'Amorim M(2024)Reproducibility Debt: Challenges and Future PathwaysCompanion Proceedings of the 32nd ACM International Conference on the Foundations of Software Engineering10.1145/3663529.3663778(462-466)Online publication date: 10-Jul-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3663529.3663778
Recupito GRapacciuolo RDi Nucci DPalomba FBosch JLewis GCleland-Huang JMuccini H(2024)Unmasking Data Secrets: An Empirical Investigation into Data Smells and Their Impact on Data QualityProceedings of the IEEE/ACM 3rd International Conference on AI Engineering - Software Engineering for AI10.1145/3644815.3644960(53-63)Online publication date: 14-Apr-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3644815.3644960
Graf-Vlachy LWagner SCodabux ZGalster MSpinola R(2024)Different Debt: An Addition to the Technical Debt Dataset and a Demonstration Using Developer PersonalityProceedings of the 7th ACM/IEEE International Conference on Technical Debt10.1145/3644384.3644475(31-35)Online publication date: 14-Apr-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3644384.3644475
Riquet NDevroey XVanderose BCodabux ZGalster MSpinola R(2024)Debt Stories: Capturing Social and Technical Debt in the IndustryProceedings of the 7th ACM/IEEE International Conference on Technical Debt10.1145/3644384.3644473(40-44)Online publication date: 14-Apr-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3644384.3644473
Chen HBabar M(2024)Security for Machine Learning-based Software Systems: A Survey of Threats, Practices, and ChallengesACM Computing Surveys10.1145/363853156:6(1-38)Online publication date: 23-Feb-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3638531
Caglayan DÖzcan-Top ÖHong JPark J(2024)Revisiting Technical Debt Types and Indicators for Software SystemsProceedings of the 39th ACM/SIGAPP Symposium on Applied Computing10.1145/3605098.3636043(834-841)Online publication date: 8-Apr-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3605098.3636043
OBrien DBiswas SImtiaz SAbdalkareem RShihab ERajan HRoychoudhury APaiva AAbreu RStorey M(2024)Are Prompt Engineering and TODO Comments Friends or Foes? An Evaluation on GitHub CopilotProceedings of the IEEE/ACM 46th International Conference on Software Engineering10.1145/3597503.3639176(1-13)Online publication date: 20-May-2024
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Recupito GPecorelli FCatolino GLenarduzzi VTaibi DDi Nucci DPalomba F(2024)Technical debt in AI-enabled systemsJournal of Systems and Software10.1016/j.jss.2024.112151216:COnline publication date: 1-Oct-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1016/j.jss.2024.112151
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