Identification and Measurement of Technical Debt Requirements in Software Development: a Systematic Literature Review

TL;DR

This systematic literature review investigates how technical debt requirements are identified and measured in software development, highlighting existing strategies, metrics, and the need for further research on management tools and interpersonal issues.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of evidence and metrics for managing technical debt requirements, emphasizing gaps in management tools and interpersonal challenges.

Findings

Identified causes of technical debt requirements

Reviewed strategies for identification and measurement

Provided metrics for assessing technical debt requirements

Abstract

Context: Technical Debt requirements are related to the distance between the ideal value of the specification and the system's actual implementation, which are consequences of strategic decisions for immediate gains, or unintended changes in context. To ensure the evolution of the software, it is necessary to keep it managed. Identification and measurement are the first two stages of the management process; however, they are little explored in academic research in requirements engineering. Objective: We aimed at investigating which evidence helps to strengthen the process of TD requirements management, including identification and measurement. Method: We conducted a Systematic Literature Review through manual and automatic searches considering 7499 studies from 2010 to 2020, and including 61 primary studies. Results: We identified some causes related to Technical Debt requirements, existing strategies to help in the identification and measurement, and metrics to support the measurement stage. Conclusion: Studies on TD requirements are still preliminary, especially on management tools. Yet, not enough attention is given to interpersonal issues, which are difficulties encountered when performing such activities, and therefore also require research. Finally, the provision of metrics to help measure TD is part of this work's contribution, providing insights into the application in the requirements context.