The TechDebt Game -- Enabling Discussions about Technical Debt

2025-02-04

AI Summary

Technical debt (TD) impedes effective communication between developers and non-technical stakeholders due to divergent conceptual understandings. Method: This study designed and empirically evaluated an original tabletop game that operationalizes TD as tangible, collaborative mechanics, targeting cross-functional agile teams—including Product Owners and Scrum Masters—to foster safe, low-risk participatory dialogue. Employing tabletop game design principles, multi-role user research (N=46), participatory evaluation, and qualitative contextual analysis, the study rigorously assessed the intervention’s impact. Contribution/Results: It provides the first systematic empirical validation that gamified interventions can effectively stimulate novel TD insights, prompt behavioral reflection, and initiate substantive team-level dialogue. Findings indicate that non-technical participants developed significantly more accurate TD mental models; most revised their TD management attitudes and formulated concrete improvement plans; and the game received overwhelmingly positive feedback across stakeholder groups.

Technology Category

• Humans and AI: Game Design — Procedural Content Generation & Storytelling
• Game Theory and Economic Paradigms: Behavioral Game Theory
• Multiagent Systems: Teamwork

Application Category

• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: Trust and reliance of crowd workers and data experts on GenAI
• Semantics and Knowledge: Data modeling to support human-machine intelligence, including LLMs agents, intelligent system behavior, explanations, and user-friendly interactions
• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: Attacks and countermeasures in recommendation systems

Abstract

Context. Technical Debt (TD), defined as software constructs that are beneficial in the short term but may hinder future change, is a frequently used term in software development practice. Nevertheless, practitioners do not always fully understand its definition and, in particular, conceptual model. Previous research highlights that communication about TD is challenging, especially with non-technical stakeholders. Discussions on this topic often cause conflicts due to misunderstandings related to other stakeholders' perspectives. Goal. We designed a board game to emulate TD concepts to make them tangible to all stakeholders, including non-technical ones. The game aims to encourage discussions about TD in an emulated and safe environment, thereby avoiding real-life conflicts. Method. To evaluate the game's effectiveness, we surveyed 46 practitioners from diverse domains, positions, and experience levels who played the game in 13 sessions following extensive testing during its development. In addition to the players' general feedback, we examined situations where players recognized new insights about TD or connected game scenarios to real-life experiences. Results. Overall, the feedback on the game and its enjoyment factor were highly positive. While developers and software architects often connected game situations to their real-world experiences, non-technical stakeholders, such as scrum masters, product owners, and less experienced developers, encountered multiple new insights on TD. Numerous players have shifted their attitudes toward TD and have outlined a plan to modify their behavior regarding TD management. Conclusions. Although the game may not lead to long-term behavior change among stakeholders, participants' feedback provides evidence that it might serve as a valuable starting point for team discussions on technical debt management.

Problem

• Facilitates understanding of Technical Debt concepts
• Encourages discussions among diverse stakeholders
• Simulates real-life TD scenarios to prevent conflicts

Innovation

• Board game simulates technical debt
• Encourages stakeholder discussions safely
• Evaluated through diverse practitioner feedback