Gnowit (Canada)

While Technical Debt (TD) manifest in systems as code-related symptoms, it is often caused by management-related issues. However, existing TD visualization tools are primarily code-based, and limited in addressing organizational factors. In this context, we introduce DebtQuest: an interactive, survey-based visualization tool designed to help assess an organization’s TD management practices. DebtQuest enables stakeholders to explore insights, pinpoint issues, perform benchmarking, and compare changes across time. Complementing the capabilities of code-based tools to discover TD symptoms, DebtQuest supports the discovery of underlying organizational causes. DebtQuest’s design is grounded in task analysis and a targeted review of relevant visualization techniques. It was refined through real-world use and evaluated by industry stakeholders. The contribution of this work is an accessible and flexible visualization design that extends recent research in TD management, revealing organizational insights that are difficult to discover using code-based tools.

IntroductionEfficient, intelligent tools to evaluate the growth and competitive potential of new technology startups and existing firms in a newly emerging industry sector would deliver valuable insight to stakeholders in many spheres: companies, entrepreneurs, governments at all levels, and investors.