Managing Software Debt: Building for Inevitable Change (paperback)

“If you work in technology, you’re probably familiar with terms like ‘technical debt.’ The metaphor seems easy, but using it to influence change can be remarkably hard. To do that, you’re going to want to present options to decision makers, backed up by evidence. I’ve been impressed watching Chris Sterling research and refine his work in just this area for several years, and I’m pleased to see him release it as a book. If you want to go beyond clichés to talk about how to deal with the problem of software debt, this is the seminal work in the field—and it’s also the book for you.”

—Matthew Heusser, Software Process Naturalist

 

“Inertia: It’s what restricts change and leads to a cost of making a change or starting a change after a period of no investment or maintenance. This book explains in great detail what the different types of debt are that lead to inertia and, ultimately, to a cost to the business in managing software maintenance and development. The richness of explanation in this book of how to manage the virtual debt that every business incurs is unmatched. Every business-focused CIO, enterprise architect, software architect, or project manager should have a copy.”

—Colin Renouf, Enterprise Architect

 

“Software debt is an important concept and Sterling does a sterling job of explaining what it is, why it is bad, and how to avoid it. A healthy dose of theory sprinkled with lots of pragmatic examples.”

—Roger Sessions, CTO, ObjectWatch (objectwatch.com)

 

“Chris Sterling’s experience in Agile architecture and his focus on software debt make this book a must-read for architects and engineers on Agile teams.”

—Jan Bosch, VP Engineering Process, Intuit

 

“This book offers highlights and shortcomings of managing inherited software code and the debts that come with quality software. The author offers a unique perspective on dealing with software development issues. A must-read for all software developers.”

—Leyna Cotran, Institute for Software Research, University of California, Irvine

 

“The vital importance of rapid feedback to the software process is a fundamental premise of modern software methods. When such feedback is quantified in the form of software debt, the software process becomes most effective. Chris Sterling’s book holds the details you need to know in order to quantify the debt and pay it back. Moreover, it will teach you how to avoid debt in the first place.”

—Israel Gat, The Agile Executive (theagileexecutive.com and on Twitter at @agile_exec)

 

“This book represents a wonderful opportunity for a larger community to take advantage of Chris’s many years of experience and his innovative approaches to Agile architecture and continuous quality. . . . His book distills many of his principles and techniques into practical guidelines, and he manages to convey very powerful ideas in accessible prose, despite the inherent complexity of architecture and technical debt. . . . Chris’s book will help architects, leaders, and teams see their way to better systems and better organizational performance.”

—Evan Campbell, Founder of Chinook Software Consulting