A Survey on the Relevance and Relevance of Decision Criteria to Support the Management of Technical Debt Items

• Leilane Ferreira Ribeiro UNIFACS / IFBA
• Rodrigo Oliveira Spínola UNIFACS / UFBA

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5753/sbqs.2016.15139

Abstract

The technical debt (TD) concept is used to describe long-term costs of shortcuts taken during the development and evolution of the software. TD management strategies assess when and if TD items should be paid. The use of decision criteria can support the choice of the most appropriate time to pay off such items. However, little is known about the applicability of criteria that have been proposed in the technical literature. In this context, this paper presents the results of a survey that was performed in order to characterize decision criteria with respect to their pertinence and relevance in supporting the technical debt management. A total of 33 responses were received and allowed us to identify a set of pertinent criteria as well as their relevance levels.

Keywords: Management, Items, Debt

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