Digital nudging for technical debt management: Insights from a technology-driven organization

Abstract

Today's fast-growing and ever-changing business environments force software development teams to release high-quality software on a tight schedule. The notion of technical debt (TD) captures the technical compromises wherein software quality is sacrificed for short-term goals. One of the most significant challenges for technical debt management (TDM) is time as a factor of complexity. TD arises from decisions that are favorable in the short term but cause a need for complex and costly actions in the long term. Building on the applications of nudges - the use of small design modifications in choice environments to guide people's behavior - and on their psychological effects, in this design science research we develop and evaluate design elements of a Technical Debt Management Label (as a TDM nudge) in a technology-driven organization. The TDM label aims to guide software developers' decisions towards adopting TDM activities that are favorable in the long term.