NOTE:

The "Jon's Agile Development Tips" pages are under construction. The other pages are generally complete.

This site is dedicated to pointing out Technical Debt ("TD") that we run across during our work in the hopes that we all might learn:

• Ways to avoid Technical Debt
• How to recognize Technical Debt
• The costs of Technical Debt
• Prevention is better than cure (just like in your health)

The site also holds various techniques I employ for running agile software development projects. This part is a kind of work in progress, as I try to transfer stuff from other project wikis over to here in piecemeal fashion.

Look 'em Over

The examples page is a fun place to start.

Make some comments on any page as you see fit.

Join the Fray!

After you get some ideas from the examples page, consider uploading some of your own. To show us your gems, simply follow the instructions here for posting examples.

Why the term?

I have been calling this "stuff" by the term "Technical Debt" for so long, I don't even recall when, why, or how I began using the term. I have a vague memory of an audience member shouting out the term after I described the concepts in a presentation. Dunno... Doesn't matter. A quick Google seems to ascribe the term to Ward Cunningham... in his OOPSLA '92 article. No matter who came up with the term, the intent of all usages seems to be similar. Basically, the idea is to describe what can happen in the software world in common financial terms that most non-technical people can understand.

The term has the word "debt" so that most people will sense that -- like financial debt -- technical debt:

• could increase over time
• requires servicing the debt
• needs to be paid off
• can cause bankruptcy if unchecked

STD?

Should I name it Software Technical Debt, for short?

A nice Parable on Agile Concepts.