Explanatory models of technical debt production in Agile and DevOps contexts: A review of the literature using the BIBGT method
At a time of unprecedented acceleration in digital transformation, digital businesses are still seeking agility to keep pace with market developments and ensure their growth. However, this exponential acceleration must not be achieved at the expense of certain risks linked to the accumulation of technical debt, in order to ensure the sustainability of these strategies.
The aim of this study is to build, from existing literature, explanatory models of the technical debt phenomenon in Agile and DevOps development contexts. We analyze the impact of the practices mobilized in these development contexts on the production of technical debt, and identify the inertial constraints that hinder its proper management. To do this, we carried out a literature review using the inductive BIBGT method, based on a combination of advanced bibliometric techniques and Grounded Theory. Through this literature review, we identified the different schools of thought, the different themes on the research front and the main avenues of research that would enable us to improve our understanding of the phenomenon of technical debt. Our analysis shows that, technically, Agile and DevOps practices should reduce the level of technical debt and optimize overall software quality. However, certain practices implemented in these contexts can lead to the production of debt. Furthermore, our results show that organizational inertia allows us to theorize both the production and mismanagement of technical debt.
