Restructuring and refinancing technical debt

Given the increasing importance of software to society, the issue of technical debt is becoming more pervasive in software development. Its implications range from incurring small amounts of technical debt to speed up development - a positive - to stalling and making development no longer possible - a huge negative. In this paper, we present a framework that attempts to refine the understanding of technical debt by tracing more links to the financial metaphor, specifically focusing on the concepts of restructuring and refinancing technical debt. This paper looks at technical debt as a leverage product that is contingent upon the liquidity of the debtor. From this perspective, it is then possible to more effectively assess the incurment of technical debt and also to more effectively strategize the use of leverage in software development - accounting for the respective risks and benefits it provides.