A Triple Bottom-line Typology of Technical Debt: Supporting Decision- Making in Cross-Functional Teams

Abstract

Technical Debt (TD) is a widely discussed metaphor in IT practice focused on increased short-term benefit in exchange for long-term ‘debt’. While it is primarily individuals or groups inside IT departments who make the decisions to take on TD, we find that the effects of TD stretch across the entire organisation. Decisions to take on TD should therefore concern a wider group. However, business leaders have traditionally lacked awareness of the effects of what they perceive to be ‘technology decisions’. To facilitate TD as group- based decision-making, we review existing literature to develop a typology of the wider impacts of TD. The goal is to help technologists, non-technologists, and academics have a broader and shared understanding of TD and to facilitate more participatory and transparent technology-related decision making. We extend the typology to include a wider ‘outside in’ perspective and conclude by suggesting areas for further research.