Developing Processes to Increase Technical Debt Visibility and Manageability – An Action Research Study in Industry

Jesse Yli-Huumo; Andrey Maglyas; Kari Smolander; Johan Haller; Hannu Törnroos

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-49094-6_24

Developing Processes to Increase Technical Debt Visibility and Manageability – An Action Research Study in Industry

Jesse Yli-Huumo, Andrey Maglyas, Kari Smolander, Johan Haller, Hannu Törnroos

Department of Computer Science

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › Scientific › peer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The knowledge about technical debt and its management has increased in recent years. The interest of academia and industry has generated many viewpoints on technical debt. Technical debt management consists of technical and organizational aspects, which make it a challenge in software development. To increase technical debt visibility and manageability, new processes must be developed and thoroughly empirically tested for their applicability. In this paper, we use the action research methodology to design processes for identification, documentation, and prioritization of technical debt. Our partner in this research is a large Nordic IT company Tieto, currently in a need for new ways to improve their technical debt management. The results include a set of processes and templates that were successfully used to identify and document technical debt. The identified technical debt items were later prioritized based on evaluation by Tieto employees. Tieto was able to create a prioritized technical debt backlog, which is now used for reduction activities to create a healthy and sustainable product for the future.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Product-Focused Software Process Improvement
Subtitle of host publication	17th International Conference, PROFES 2016, Trondheim, Norway, November 22-24, 2016, Proceedings
Publisher	Springer International Publishing
Pages	368-378
Volume	10027
ISBN (Electronic)	978-3-319-49094-6
ISBN (Print)	978-3-319-49093-9
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49094-6_24
Publication status	Published - 2016
MoE publication type	A4 Article in a conference publication
Event	International Conference on Product-Focused Software Process Improvement - Trondheim, Norway Duration: 22 Nov 2016 → 24 Nov 2016 Conference number: 17

Publication series

Name	Lecture Notes in Computer Science
Publisher	Springer International Publishing
Volume	10027
ISSN (Print)	0302-9743

Conference

Conference	International Conference on Product-Focused Software Process Improvement
Abbreviated title	PROFES
Country	Norway
City	Trondheim
Period	22/11/2016 → 24/11/2016

Keywords

Technical debt;Technical debt management;Software process improvement;Action research

Access to Document

10.1007/978-3-319-49094-6_24

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Yli-Huumo, J., Maglyas, A., Smolander, K., Haller, J., & Törnroos, H. (2016). Developing Processes to Increase Technical Debt Visibility and Manageability – An Action Research Study in Industry. In Product-Focused Software Process Improvement: 17th International Conference, PROFES 2016, Trondheim, Norway, November 22-24, 2016, Proceedings (Vol. 10027, pp. 368-378). (Lecture Notes in Computer Science; Vol. 10027). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49094-6_24

Yli-Huumo, Jesse ; Maglyas, Andrey ; Smolander, Kari ; Haller, Johan ; Törnroos, Hannu. / Developing Processes to Increase Technical Debt Visibility and Manageability – An Action Research Study in Industry. Product-Focused Software Process Improvement: 17th International Conference, PROFES 2016, Trondheim, Norway, November 22-24, 2016, Proceedings. Vol. 10027 Springer International Publishing, 2016. pp. 368-378 (Lecture Notes in Computer Science).

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abstract = "The knowledge about technical debt and its management has increased in recent years. The interest of academia and industry has generated many viewpoints on technical debt. Technical debt management consists of technical and organizational aspects, which make it a challenge in software development. To increase technical debt visibility and manageability, new processes must be developed and thoroughly empirically tested for their applicability. In this paper, we use the action research methodology to design processes for identification, documentation, and prioritization of technical debt. Our partner in this research is a large Nordic IT company Tieto, currently in a need for new ways to improve their technical debt management. The results include a set of processes and templates that were successfully used to identify and document technical debt. The identified technical debt items were later prioritized based on evaluation by Tieto employees. Tieto was able to create a prioritized technical debt backlog, which is now used for reduction activities to create a healthy and sustainable product for the future.",

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author = "Jesse Yli-Huumo and Andrey Maglyas and Kari Smolander and Johan Haller and Hannu T{\"o}rnroos",

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Yli-Huumo, J, Maglyas, A, Smolander, K, Haller, J & Törnroos, H 2016, Developing Processes to Increase Technical Debt Visibility and Manageability – An Action Research Study in Industry. in Product-Focused Software Process Improvement: 17th International Conference, PROFES 2016, Trondheim, Norway, November 22-24, 2016, Proceedings. vol. 10027, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol. 10027, Springer International Publishing, pp. 368-378, International Conference on Product-Focused Software Process Improvement, Trondheim, Norway, 22/11/2016. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49094-6_24

Developing Processes to Increase Technical Debt Visibility and Manageability – An Action Research Study in Industry. / Yli-Huumo, Jesse; Maglyas, Andrey; Smolander, Kari; Haller, Johan; Törnroos, Hannu.

Product-Focused Software Process Improvement: 17th International Conference, PROFES 2016, Trondheim, Norway, November 22-24, 2016, Proceedings. Vol. 10027 Springer International Publishing, 2016. p. 368-378 (Lecture Notes in Computer Science; Vol. 10027).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › Scientific › peer-review

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AU - Yli-Huumo, Jesse

AU - Maglyas, Andrey

AU - Smolander, Kari

AU - Haller, Johan

AU - Törnroos, Hannu

N1 - Conference code: 17

PY - 2016

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N2 - The knowledge about technical debt and its management has increased in recent years. The interest of academia and industry has generated many viewpoints on technical debt. Technical debt management consists of technical and organizational aspects, which make it a challenge in software development. To increase technical debt visibility and manageability, new processes must be developed and thoroughly empirically tested for their applicability. In this paper, we use the action research methodology to design processes for identification, documentation, and prioritization of technical debt. Our partner in this research is a large Nordic IT company Tieto, currently in a need for new ways to improve their technical debt management. The results include a set of processes and templates that were successfully used to identify and document technical debt. The identified technical debt items were later prioritized based on evaluation by Tieto employees. Tieto was able to create a prioritized technical debt backlog, which is now used for reduction activities to create a healthy and sustainable product for the future.

AB - The knowledge about technical debt and its management has increased in recent years. The interest of academia and industry has generated many viewpoints on technical debt. Technical debt management consists of technical and organizational aspects, which make it a challenge in software development. To increase technical debt visibility and manageability, new processes must be developed and thoroughly empirically tested for their applicability. In this paper, we use the action research methodology to design processes for identification, documentation, and prioritization of technical debt. Our partner in this research is a large Nordic IT company Tieto, currently in a need for new ways to improve their technical debt management. The results include a set of processes and templates that were successfully used to identify and document technical debt. The identified technical debt items were later prioritized based on evaluation by Tieto employees. Tieto was able to create a prioritized technical debt backlog, which is now used for reduction activities to create a healthy and sustainable product for the future.

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Yli-Huumo J, Maglyas A, Smolander K, Haller J, Törnroos H. Developing Processes to Increase Technical Debt Visibility and Manageability – An Action Research Study in Industry. In Product-Focused Software Process Improvement: 17th International Conference, PROFES 2016, Trondheim, Norway, November 22-24, 2016, Proceedings. Vol. 10027. Springer International Publishing. 2016. p. 368-378. (Lecture Notes in Computer Science). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49094-6_24