Managing Software Debt

In Scrum, the product backlog is used to prioritize feature implementation based on business value. The product owner manages the product backlog to direct implementation for the greatest possible business value. However, product backlogs that list only system features do not consider the decay of software over time. The resulting “software debt” can eventually sink a project or even an entire product or organization. Chris Sterling explains ways to manage software debt with an eye on the long-term vision and success of the product. Unfortunately, many teams ignore key concepts regarding debt and fall into a “get it done” mentality. They either ignore, or are unaware of, the negative effects of these seemingly small decisions on their future success. Learn about the different types of debt-technical, quality, configuration management, design, and platform experience-and how to manage them so you continue to deliver high value as your systems evolve and age.