The Consortium for IT Software Quality (CISQ), the Massachusetts-based body chartered to create specifications for automating the measurement of software size and structural quality, has announced that its Automated Technical Debt Measure has been approved as a software measurement standard. The standard, which has been approved by the Object Management Group (OMG), a not-for-profit technology standards consortium developing IT-related standards, will be the first for estimating future corrective maintenance efforts to remedy structural defects in code. Technical Debt is a phrase referring to the cost to repair structural quality problems remaining in production code. The cost to fix structural quality problems constitutes the principal of the debt, while the inefficiencies they cause until fixed represent compounding interest. The Automated Technical Debt Measure estimates the effort required to fix critical weaknesses in software code and architecture. Criticality is determined by the risk and cost to the business. The weaknesses are detected through static analysis, and an algorithm determines the repair effort based on estimates collected from professional developers and an assessment of the complexity of the surrounding code. Corrective maintenance costs can then be estimated by converting the repair effort into the preferred currency. According to CISQ Executive Director, Dr. Bill Curtis, “Technical Debt saps IT budgets, hinders innovation, and leaves organisations vulnerable to digital disasters. The announcement presents a standardised method for measuring the financial impact of structural weaknesses remaining in code at release. It expresses the cost of software quality in terms the business can understand, including the liabilities incurred if a weakness triggers a disastrous incident or the opportunity cost of having to fix weaknesses rather than develop innovative functionality”. OMG Chairman and CEO, Dr. Richard Soley, said, “CISQ is leading the way to establish a common standard to help businesses manage the risk posture of their software systems in financial terms, which is a major reason why OMG sponsored the CISQ measures. The Automated Technical Debt Measure standard is the first of its kind to help businesses estimate corrective maintenance costs, allocate repair effort, address potential trouble areas, and/or decide to replace an application due to excessive Technical Debt”.
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