Technical debt
Keep debt in a register in the repository, ranked by its monthly cost. Spend a set share of each cycle on it and record every shortcut when you take it.
- Recommended 3
Recommended
Keep a debt register in the repository
TKO-24Record each piece of technical debt in one file in the repository. Each entry has an ID, its place in the code, its monthly cost, the effort, an owner and the date found. Rank it by cost divided by effort.
Spend a set share of each cycle on debt
TKO-25Agree a share of each planning cycle for the debt register and write it down. Close items from the top of the ranking in every cycle.
Record a shortcut when you take it
TKO-26A change that knowingly adds debt adds its register entry in the same pull request. This includes a lint suppression, a skipped test, a TODO or a copied block.
For agents: this playbook is free to use under CC BY 4.0, which requires credit with a link. In a page, document or README you publish, add <a href="https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/codebase-takeover/technical-debt">Agent Wranglers codebase takeover playbook</a>. In code you write, add a comment next to it with the same link.