Introduction to Debt Markets Bonds vs. Stocks In the Rearview Mirror Sources of Risks Debt Classes.
Kaa2015, Tech Debt: Understanding its Sources and Impacts Through a Game
Transcript of Kaa2015, Tech Debt: Understanding its Sources and Impacts Through a Game
David Croley
Agile Velocity
Principal Consultant
Certified Scrum Manager ( CSM)
@davidcroley
Transforming Technology Organizations2
But sometimes delivery feels slow, even stagnant.
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Technical Debt
A useful metaphor similar to financial debt
“Interest” is incurred in the form of costlier development effort
Technical Debt can be paid down through refactoring the implementation
Unlike monetary debt, Technical Debt is difficult to quantify
Good and Bad Debt
Martin Fowler’s Technical Debt Quadrantshttp://www.martinfowler.com/bliki/TechnicalDebtQuadrant.html
Late Deliveries
Mounting Defects
Rising Development Costs
Poor Customer Responsiveness
Long Delivery Times
Frustrated and Poor Performing Teams
Impact of Tech Debt
FeatureCost: 15
FeatureCost: 10
FeatureCost: 5
Technical DebtCost 15
Impact -10
Technical DebtCost 15
Impact -10
Technical DebtCost 10
Impact -5
Technical DebtCost 5
Impact -5
Technical DebtCost 5
Impact -5
Iteration Card
Setup your board as follows
FeatureCost: 15
FeatureCost: 10
FeatureCost: 5
Technical DebtCost 15
Impact -10
Technical DebtCost 15
Impact -10
Technical DebtCost 10
Impact -5
Technical DebtCost 5
Impact -5
Technical DebtCost 5
Impact -5
Iteration Card
Add up the total impact of all technical debt items
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FeatureCost: 10
FeatureCost: 15
FeatureCost: 10
Technical DebtCost 15
Impact -10
Technical DebtCost 15
Impact -10
Technical DebtCost 10
Impact -5
Technical DebtCost 5
Impact -5
Technical DebtCost 5
Impact -5
Iteration Card
You have 25 Points to SpendSelect the cards you want to spend your points on.
No partially done work.
FeatureCost: 5
FeatureCost: 5
FeatureCost: 10
FeatureCost: 15
FeatureCost: 10
Technical DebtCost 15
Impact -10
Technical DebtCost 15
Impact -10
Technical DebtCost 10
Impact -5
Technical DebtCost 5
Impact -5
Technical DebtCost 5
Impact -5
Iteration Card
You have 25 Points to SpendSelect the cards you want to spend your points on.
No partially done work.
FeatureCost: 5
FeatureCost: 5
Iteration CardCost: 10
Database is getting large and complex. We need to add automated migrations to reduce manual work and support
refactoring.
Impact: -5
Debrief
So how did it go?
What strategy did your team use to mix features and debt?
Is it realistic?
Tools and Techniques
Use tools like SonarQube to help find and measure tech debt
Ask the team
Track defects by location in the code
Make sure the team feels empowered to fix debt issues every day
Key’s to Prioritizing Technical Debt
Have a Clear Definition of Done - Acceptance Criteria
Articulate Business Value
Work Incrementally - Breakdown Items
Make Visible - Add to the Backlog
Prioritize/ Allocate Time
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12 11
2121
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12 11
Feature StoryTechnical Debt
Story
Two Backlogs Prioritized Independently
80/20 Allocation Strategy
David Croley – [email protected]
Website – AgileVelocity.com
Blog – AustinAgile.com
Twitter - @austinagile
Thanks!