Blog Posts
10 Years of Research in Technical Debt and an Agenda for the Future

This post reviews the evolution of the field of technical debt and identifies open research questions that will drive future developments.
• By Robert Nord, Ipek Ozkaya
In Technical Debt
Automatically Detecting Technical Debt Discussions with Machine Learning
Technical debt (TD) refers to choices made during software development that achieve short-term goals at the expense of long-term quality....
• By Robert Nord
In Artificial Intelligence Engineering
Using Machine Learning to Detect Design Patterns
Software increasingly serves core DoD functions, such as ship and plane navigation, supply logistics, and real-time situational awareness....
• By Robert Nord, Zachary Kurtz
In Artificial Intelligence Engineering
Managing the Consequences of Technical Debt: 5 Stories from the Field
If you participate in the development of software, the chances are good that you have experienced the consequences of technical debt....
• By Ipek Ozkaya, Robert Nord
In Technical Debt
The Future of Managing Technical Debt
Software engineers increasingly recognize technical debt as a problem they care about, but they lack methods and tools to help them strategically plan, track, and pay down debt. The concept …
• By Robert Nord
In Technical Debt
Early Software Vulnerability Detection with Technical Debt
Does technical debt also correlate with an increase in security vulnerabilities? To answer this question this blog post describes research we conducted that tested the relationship between software vulnerabilities and …
• By Robert Nord, Edward Schwartz
In Technical Debt
10 Recommended Practices for Achieving Agile at Scale
This post is the first in a two-part series highlighting 10 recommended practices for achieving agile at scale. Software and acquisition professionals often have questions about recommended practices related to …
• By Ipek Ozkaya, Robert Nord, SPRUCE Project
In Agile
Using Scenario-Based Architecture Analysis to Inform Code Quality Measures
As the pace of software delivery increases, organizations need guidance on how to deliver high-quality software rapidly, while simultaneously meeting demands related to time-to-market, cost, productivity, and quality. In practice, …
• By Robert Nord, Ipek Ozkaya
In Software Architecture
Agile and Architecture Practices for Rapid Delivery
Agile projects with incremental development lifecycles are showing greater promise in enabling organizations to rapidly field software compared to waterfall projects. There is a lack of clarity, however, regarding the …
• By Stephany Bellomo, Ipek Ozkaya, Robert Nord
In Agile
Rapid Lifecycle Development in an Agile Context
New acquisition guidelines from the Department of Defense (DoD) aimed at reducing system lifecycle time and effort are encouraging the adoption of Agile methods. There is a general lack, however, …