Item
Named, one line. 'Auth code has no tests' beats 'auth is a mess.'
Severity (1-5)
- 5 — blocking a real business initiative right now
- 3 — meaningfully slowing new work in this area
- 1 — annoying, but no impact on delivery
Cost of delay
What breaks or slows down if we don't fix it in the next 6 months? Quantify where you can — hours per week, incidents per quarter.
Remediation size
T-shirt: XS, S, M, L, XL. XL items should be broken down before they go on the inventory.
Owner
The person who can speak to it. Not the person who will fix it — the person who owns keeping the entry accurate.
Common pitfalls
- — Listing everything. If everything is debt, nothing is.
- — Never bringing the inventory to planning. It has to compete for capacity.
- — Debt items with no owner. They rot.