An AHP-Based Artifact for Prioritizing Software Technical Debt Items: : A Design Science Research Study

Déborah de Assis Pereira dos Santos; Napoleão Verardi Galegale

doi:10.21710/rch.v40i2.822

Autores/as

Déborah de Assis Pereira dos Santos Centro Estadual de Educação Tecnológica Paula Souza https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7431-5521
Napoleão Verardi Galegale Centro Estadual de Educação Tecnológica Paula Souza / Pontífica Universidade Católica de São Paulo https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2228-9151

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21710/rch.v40i2.822

Palabras clave:

Dívida Técnica, Engenharia de Software, Priorização, Tomada de Decisão

Resumen

When a delivered system deviates from its expected requirements, Technical Debt (TD) may arise. TD extends beyond purely technical issues; the literature identifies fifteen distinct types, including requirements, documentation, and testing debt. Furthermore, TD can be incurred at any stage of the software development lifecycle. The lack of structured management for TD items often results in complex and costly system maintenance for organizations. This study aims to present the development and application of a prioritization matrix for software TD items using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. Adopting a Design Science Research (DSR) approach, this research develops an artifact designed as a practical solution to address the challenges organizations face in prioritizing TD items. The proposed matrix was validated through a case study in a multinational company within the vehicle monitoring and tracking sector. The results demonstrate that the matrix successfully established a prioritized list of TD items based on consistent judgments provided by the decision-maker. This study contributes to technical debt management by proposing and evaluating a structured AHP-based artifact that supports the prioritization of technical debt items using literature-based decision criteria and consistent managerial judgments.

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