As software engineers, we use TODOs and FIXMEs all the time. We’ve picked out the three best Visual Studio Code extensions to help you handle them. Visual Studio Code has a rich ecosystem of plugins and extensions that help make our jobs easier and faster. TODOs and FIXMEs are part…

In this article, we’ll explore how you can refactor your code using the Visual Studio Code (VS Code) code editor. We’ll also explore the best VS Code extensions. Refactoring improves code’s internal structure without altering the current behaviour. Refactoring your code helps your team manage technical risk. The act of…

Looking to measure technical debt? Here are the top 3 tech debt metrics you should be measuring. Our team helps elite software engineering teams measure, prioritise and address technical debt. This article shares the best, tried-and-tested scientific methods to get quantitative data on technical debt. Technical debt is an inevitable…

“Technical debt” has an image problem, like student loans or mortgage payments. But acquiring technical debt can be a good decision, in the same way that taking out a financial loan can be. Just like financial loans, the cost of technical debt can be a good deal in exchange for…

Great code commenting practices don’t just benefit engineers. They boost code quality and fight tech debt. So what are the types of code comments, and when and how should we write them? “What on earth does this do?” “Why wasn’t this a ticket?” Been there? If you’re anything like most…

Jira can be hard work for engineers. Here are 5 of the very best Jira plugins that make Jira much, much more pleasant to work with. Let’s face it. Jira, the most popular project management tool on the planet, is not up to par. I get why it’s popular —…

What can we learn from 10 years of change in software engineering, and the impact of technical debt on code quality and outcomes? Focussing on tech debt can feel like a new thing. After all, software has evolved to become far more efficient. But a decade-old research paper from researchers…

We need to talk about shifting tech debt left. Here’s how we can improve codebase health and improve quality in the future by focussing on tech debt. Shifting left has brought massive benefits for testing, security and DevOps, but not for tech debt and issue tracking. Yet, technical debt is…