Continuous Debt Valuation Approach (CoDVA) for Technical Debt Prioritization

Abstract

This paper proposes a technical debt prioritization technique to be used throughout software development lifecycle. Our method stresses a broader perspective of the product, so the focus is kept on optimizing the software artifacts supporting the complete flow of the value for the customer (including e.g. test environment or deployment pipelines). Many technical debt approaches are focused on static code analysis and misconsider business aspects as a separate activity. On the contrary, our method, based on the New Solution Selling Process, strongly advocates for a business perspective. It facilitates technical debt valuation against a predicted product roadmap by a close alignment with a structured sales process and the advancement of sales opportunities. Taking into account prediction of sales, progress of conversations with potential clients and bids, probability that a given functionality will be prioritized for the development, this approach may serve as a reference point for measuring business value of technical debt continuously. This valuation serves as a relative comparison of technical debt items enabling prioritization of effort to pay off technical debt. The method was evaluated on a release of a wireless telecommunication system. The results confirm that the suggested priorities may address the most profitable product areas from the company’s perspective and ultimately optimize the value for customers.