Deliberative Technical Debt Management: An Action Research Study

Nichlas Bødker Borup; Ann Louise Jul Christiansen; Sabine Hørdum Tovgaard; John Stouby Persson

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-91983-2_5

Deliberative Technical Debt Management: An Action Research Study

Nichlas Bødker Borup, Ann Louise Jul Christiansen, Sabine Hørdum Tovgaard, John Stouby Persson

Research output: Contribution to book/anthology/report/conference proceeding › Article in proceeding › Research › peer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Technical Debt (TD) has seen a growing interest from software companies and researchers since the term was first established almost 30 years ago. TD refers to concessions made for short-term advantages or conveniences, which may result in long-term difficulties. Numerous TD management strategies have been proposed to avoid the severe consequences of leaving TD unchecked. However, these strategies often suffer from being too abstract, making it difficult to initiate TD deliberations. To investigate how software development companies can initiate such deliberations, we conducted an Action Research study in collaboration with a Danish software development department, SoftShelf. Through two Action Research interventions at SoftShelf, we introduced strategies and tools for TD management and reified them to their situation in order to initiate deliberations on the matter. After reporting the interventions’ practical consequences in SoftShelf, we discuss the usefulness of deliberation theory in TD management research and practice.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Software Business : 12th International Conference, ICSOB 2021, Drammen, Norway, December 2–3, 2021, Proceedings
Editors	Xiaofeng Wang, Antonio Martini, Anh Nguyen-Duc, Viktoria Stray
Number of pages	16
Publisher	Springer
Publication date	Dec 2021
Pages	50-65
ISBN (Print)	978-3-030-91982-5
ISBN (Electronic)	978-3-030-91983-2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91983-2_5
Publication status	Published - Dec 2021
Event	12th International Conference on Software Business: Software Sustainability - University of South Eastern Norway, Drammen, Norway Duration: 2 Dec 2021 → 3 Dec 2021 Conference number: 12 http://icsob2021.org

Conference

Conference	12th International Conference on Software Business
Number	12
Location	University of South Eastern Norway
Country/Territory	Norway
City	Drammen
Period	02/12/2021 → 03/12/2021
Internet address	http://icsob2021.org

Series	Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing
Volume	434
ISSN	1865-1348

Keywords

Technical Debt
Action research
Deliberation theory

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10.1007/978-3-030-91983-2_5

AUB Link

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Borup, N. B., Christiansen, A. L. J., Tovgaard, S. H., & Persson, J. S. (2021). Deliberative Technical Debt Management: An Action Research Study. In X. Wang, A. Martini, A. Nguyen-Duc, & V. Stray (Eds.), Software Business: 12th International Conference, ICSOB 2021, Drammen, Norway, December 2–3, 2021, Proceedings (pp. 50-65). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91983-2_5

Borup, Nichlas Bødker ; Christiansen, Ann Louise Jul ; Tovgaard, Sabine Hørdum et al. / Deliberative Technical Debt Management : An Action Research Study. Software Business: 12th International Conference, ICSOB 2021, Drammen, Norway, December 2–3, 2021, Proceedings. editor / Xiaofeng Wang ; Antonio Martini ; Anh Nguyen-Duc ; Viktoria Stray. Springer, 2021. pp. 50-65 (Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing, Vol. 434).

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abstract = "Technical Debt (TD) has seen a growing interest from software companies and researchers since the term was first established almost 30 years ago. TD refers to concessions made for short-term advantages or conveniences, which may result in long-term difficulties. Numerous TD management strategies have been proposed to avoid the severe consequences of leaving TD unchecked. However, these strategies often suffer from being too abstract, making it difficult to initiate TD deliberations. To investigate how software development companies can initiate such deliberations, we conducted an Action Research study in collaboration with a Danish software development department, SoftShelf. Through two Action Research interventions at SoftShelf, we introduced strategies and tools for TD management and reified them to their situation in order to initiate deliberations on the matter. After reporting the interventions{\textquoteright} practical consequences in SoftShelf, we discuss the usefulness of deliberation theory in TD management research and practice.",

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Borup, NB, Christiansen, ALJ, Tovgaard, SH & Persson, JS 2021, Deliberative Technical Debt Management: An Action Research Study. in X Wang, A Martini, A Nguyen-Duc & V Stray (eds), Software Business: 12th International Conference, ICSOB 2021, Drammen, Norway, December 2–3, 2021, Proceedings. Springer, Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing, vol. 434, pp. 50-65, 12th International Conference on Software Business, Drammen, Norway, 02/12/2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91983-2_5

Deliberative Technical Debt Management: An Action Research Study. / Borup, Nichlas Bødker; Christiansen, Ann Louise Jul; Tovgaard, Sabine Hørdum et al.
Software Business: 12th International Conference, ICSOB 2021, Drammen, Norway, December 2–3, 2021, Proceedings. ed. / Xiaofeng Wang; Antonio Martini; Anh Nguyen-Duc; Viktoria Stray. Springer, 2021. p. 50-65 (Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing, Vol. 434).

Research output: Contribution to book/anthology/report/conference proceeding › Article in proceeding › Research › peer-review

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T2 - 12th International Conference on Software Business

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AU - Persson, John Stouby

N1 - Conference code: 12

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N2 - Technical Debt (TD) has seen a growing interest from software companies and researchers since the term was first established almost 30 years ago. TD refers to concessions made for short-term advantages or conveniences, which may result in long-term difficulties. Numerous TD management strategies have been proposed to avoid the severe consequences of leaving TD unchecked. However, these strategies often suffer from being too abstract, making it difficult to initiate TD deliberations. To investigate how software development companies can initiate such deliberations, we conducted an Action Research study in collaboration with a Danish software development department, SoftShelf. Through two Action Research interventions at SoftShelf, we introduced strategies and tools for TD management and reified them to their situation in order to initiate deliberations on the matter. After reporting the interventions’ practical consequences in SoftShelf, we discuss the usefulness of deliberation theory in TD management research and practice.

AB - Technical Debt (TD) has seen a growing interest from software companies and researchers since the term was first established almost 30 years ago. TD refers to concessions made for short-term advantages or conveniences, which may result in long-term difficulties. Numerous TD management strategies have been proposed to avoid the severe consequences of leaving TD unchecked. However, these strategies often suffer from being too abstract, making it difficult to initiate TD deliberations. To investigate how software development companies can initiate such deliberations, we conducted an Action Research study in collaboration with a Danish software development department, SoftShelf. Through two Action Research interventions at SoftShelf, we introduced strategies and tools for TD management and reified them to their situation in order to initiate deliberations on the matter. After reporting the interventions’ practical consequences in SoftShelf, we discuss the usefulness of deliberation theory in TD management research and practice.

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Borup NB, Christiansen ALJ, Tovgaard SH , Persson JS. Deliberative Technical Debt Management: An Action Research Study. In Wang X, Martini A, Nguyen-Duc A, Stray V, editors, Software Business: 12th International Conference, ICSOB 2021, Drammen, Norway, December 2–3, 2021, Proceedings. Springer. 2021. p. 50-65. (Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing, Vol. 434). doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-91983-2_5

Deliberative Technical Debt Management: An Action Research Study

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