IT managers’ perspective on Technical Debt Management

Abstract

Context:Technical Debt (TD) is a term for software solutions that are beneficial in the short-term but impede future change. Goal:Previous research on TD indicates various management-related causes. We analyze the perspective of IT managers on TD since they usually have a major influence on deadlines, the project’s budget, and setting up a TD management (TDM) process. Method:To determine the IT managers’ perspective, we obtained and analyzed data from 16 semi-structured interviews and a three-person focus group discussion. Results:We found that all IT managers understood the TD concept. They consider TDM to be an essential topic, though nearly none of them had set up a TDM process so far. We identified three major concerns the IT managers had regarding TDM: communicating about TD, establishing a TDM process, and dealing with vintage systems, i.e., old legacy systems We developed a model specifying causes and consequences visible to business stakeholders, causal chains, and vicious cycles. Conclusions:Our research identifies new research gaps and demonstrates to practitioners that investing in a TDM process may be beneficial. It provides the V4CTD model of Visibility, Cycles & Chains of Causes & Consequences of TD, extending the TD conceptual model and facilitating communication on TD with business stakeholders.Editor’s note: Open Science material was validated by the Journal of Systems and Software Open Science Board.