SE Radio 224: Sven Johann and Eberhard Wolff on Technical Debt

In this episode, Sven Johann and Eberhard Wolff talk about technical debt and how to handle it. They begin by defining external and internal quality and then talk about technical debt as a metaphor for discussing quality with management. They then consider whether technical debt is bad and how to handle it by using Eric Evan's strategic design. The show explores the reasons for technical debt; Martin Fowler's quadrant model is good for categorizing the root causes. Approaches to handling technical debt include the radical question of whether technical debt should be repaid at all. After all, debt-free systems actually might not exist, which leads to the question of whether technical debt is a good metaphor. Quality investments based on the SQALE (Software Quality Assessment based on Lifecycle Expectations) provide a different metaphor and another way to handle technical debt.