Additional information
by Howard Kleinwaks (Author)
Every systems engineer and project manager has experienced similar pains during system development: tasks take longer or are more complex than they should be, you have to correct or rework previous activities, or that shortcut you thought you had wasn't really a good idea. These are all symptoms of technical debt - the long-term consequences of decisions made for a short-term benefit. In today's fast-paced development world, we often make decisions to get a release out the door without consideration of the downstream impacts, which builds technical debt within the system. In recent years, technical debt has been blamed for disruptions from flight cancellations to cyber-attacks and cost companies billions of dollars. The good news is that technical debt is not inevitable and if it is properly managed, it can be a tool to help the system development. This book provides practicing systems engineers and project managers the tools and techniques necessary to manage technical debt within systems engineering projects. The reader will learn how to identify and manage technical debt to mitigate its impacts on the system throughout the three parts of this book. Part 1 introduces the concept of technical debt and develops a common ontology. Part 2 introduces the reader to the causes and types of technical debt and its applicability to the systems engineering lifecycle. Part 3 explains the technical debt management cycle, providing methods to identify, measure, and mitigate the effects of technical debt within the development of a project. Part 3 concludes with a definition of technical bankruptcy and a case study of a project that went technically bankrupt, leading to project cancellation.
Back Jacket
Every systems engineer and project manager has experienced similar pains during system development: tasks take longer or are more complex than they should be, you have to correct or rework previous activities, or that shortcut you thought you had wasn't really a good idea. These are all symptoms of technical debt - the long-term consequences of decisions made for a short-term benefit. In today's fast-paced development world, we often make decisions to get a release out the door without consideration of the downstream impacts, which builds technical debt within the system. In recent years, technical debt has been blamed for disruptions from flight cancellations to cyber-attacks and cost companies billions of dollars. The good news is that technical debt is not inevitable and if it is properly managed, it can be a tool to help the system development. This book provides practicing systems engineers and project managers the tools and techniques necessary to manage technical debt within systems engineering projects. The reader will learn how to identify and manage technical debt to mitigate its impacts on the system throughout the three parts of this book. Part 1 introduces the concept of technical debt and develops a common ontology. Part 2 introduces the reader to the causes and types of technical debt and its applicability to the systems engineering lifecycle. Part 3 explains the technical debt management cycle, providing methods to identify, measure, and mitigate the effects of technical debt within the development of a project. Part 3 concludes with a definition of technical bankruptcy and a case study of a project that went technically bankrupt, leading to project cancellation.
Author Biography
Dr. Howard Kleinwaks is the Chief Engineer of the National Security Division at Modern Technology Solutions, Inc. (MTSI) and also the Tranche 1 Chief Engineer at the Space Development Agency. After graduating with a Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Aerospace Engineering from MIT, he worked on several spiral development projects. This experience led him to ask the basic question "How do we know that the decision we are making now will not have long-term impacts on our future spirals?" To answer this question, he completed a Doctor of Engineering degree at Colorado State University studying the implications of technical debt on systems engineering development projects. Dr. Kleinwaks has over 20 years of experience working and managing complex systems development projects and has implemented technical debt management programs on his current projects. He is a Certified Systems Engineering Professional (CSEP), Project Management Professional (PMP), and a Professional Scrum Master. His experience stretching across systems engineering, project management, and Agile development informs the development of this book for like-minded readers.
