Technology · Technical debt and renewal · Component
Technical debt register
The known shortcuts and outdated parts of the estate, what each costs to carry, and what it would cost to repay.
The deliverable
What it is
Fowler’s technical debt quadrant separates debt taken on deliberately from debt that arose from not knowing better, and prudent debt from reckless. The register holds both kinds, though the deliberate ones are easiest to capture, because someone knew at the time.
Each entry is a judgement about interest: how much extra effort the debt causes each time the system is touched. Debt in code nobody changes costs little; debt in the system everyone changes weekly is where repayment pays back.
One level in
What it is made of
Each element is a constituent part of the component. Follow one to see the attributes it carries.
Interest estimate
The extra effort or risk the debt causes each time the affected part is changed or run.
3 attributes: Extra effort per change · Changes per year · Confidence
LearnRepayment option
What paying the debt down would involve, its estimated cost, and when repayment is planned.
3 attributes: Repayment cost · Priority · Repayment status
Learn
Record the debt when the shortcut is taken. It costs a sentence then, and an investigation later.
The other components in technical debt and renewal
Application portfolio assessment
Each system rated for business fit and technical condition, with the resulting course: tolerate, invest, migrate or eliminate.
LearnRenewal roadmap
The phased plan for replacing or modernising systems, sequenced so that the business keeps running throughout.
Learn