TechDebt 2026
Sun 12 - Mon 13 April 2026 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
co-located with ICSE 2026
Mon 13 Apr 2026 11:40 - 12:00 at Oceania VII - Marisa Monte Chair(s): Pablo Valenzuela-Toledo

Continuous software engineering (CSE) has become essential for delivering flexible, market-driven software solutions by integrating development, operations, and business strategy under agile principles. CSE practices also lead to the accumulation of technical debt (TD), highlighting the importance of effective technical debt management (TDM). Traceability can play a key role in TDM by linking TD items to past decisions throughout the software life cycle; in addition, the TD traceability remains underexplored in the literature. This study investigates how software practitioners manage the traceability of TD in CSE environments. We conducted eight semi-structured interviews to understand existing processes, tools used, and challenges. Findings reveal that TD traceability is generally ad hoc, lacks standardized practices, and is primarily supported by tools that focus on visualizing TD in backlogs without preserving decision rationale. These results point out to opportunities for future research to enhance TD traceability in CSE.

Mon 13 Apr

Displayed time zone: Brasilia, Distrito Federal, Brazil change

11:00 - 12:30
Marisa MonteTechnical Papers / Industry Track at Oceania VII
Chair(s): Pablo Valenzuela-Toledo University of Bern, Universidad de La Frontera
11:00
20m
Talk
A Practical Guide for Establishing a Technical Debt Management Process
Technical Papers
Marion Wiese University of Hamburg, Germany, Kamila Serwa University of Hamburg, Eva Bittner University of Hamburg
11:20
20m
Industry talk
AI & Test Automation Debt - Zero-Touch Quality: Eradicating Test Maintenance Debt with Multi-Agent Autonomous SystemsVirtual Attendance
Industry Track
11:40
20m
Talk
How Do Practitioners Manage Traceability of Technical Debt in Continuous Software Engineering?
Technical Papers
Lucas Carvalho University of São Paulo, João Paulo Biazotto University of Groningen and University of São Paulo, Daniel Feitosa University of Groningen, Elisa Yumi Nakagawa University of São Paulo
12:00
10m
Talk
When Do You Repeat Yourself? Voices from the Trenches of Linux Kernel Maintainers on Code Duplication
Technical Papers
Luan Arcanjo University of São Paulo, David Tadokoro University of São Paulo, Marcelo Spessoto University of São Paulo, Rafael Passos University of São Paulo, Paulo Meirelles University of São Paulo
12:10
20m
Industry talk
Preventing Debt Before the First Line of Code: An Experimentation-First Approach in Complex O&G Projects
Industry Track