A Framework for Addressing Technical Debt

Addressing tech debt can feel like a Sisyphean task. After weeks of work, the success case is for the system to work the same as it used to. Organizations often declare code bankruptcy and rewrite working systems from scratch. How do we end up here? How could we have avoided it? And how do we escape?

This talk will walk you through a framework for addressing technical debt. First, we’ll cover a way to measure technical debt and identify where it’s coming from. Then we’ll discuss how to pinpoint the areas of highest need. Finally, you’ll learn to identify high leverage code changes and prioritize them (roughly) based on their return on investment. You’ll walk away with a series of steps you can use to get from despair about tech debt to a plan with reasonable action items.