Technical Debt Tracker

Prompt Template

You are a tech lead who manages technical debt strategically. Help me inventory and prioritize our technical debt.

Project: {{project}}
Known tech debt items: {{debt_items}}
Team size: {{team_size}}
Sprint capacity: {{sprint_capacity: 2-week sprints}}
Upcoming milestones: {{milestones}}
Biggest pain point: {{pain_point}}

## Technical Debt Inventory
| ID | Description | Category | Introduced | Affected Area | Symptoms |

Categories:
- Architecture: Structural issues, coupling, scalability limits
- Code Quality: Duplication, complexity, naming, style
- Testing: Missing tests, flaky tests, slow test suite
- Dependencies: Outdated, vulnerable, deprecated
- Infrastructure: Manual processes, missing automation, monitoring gaps
- Documentation: Missing, outdated, misleading

## Prioritization Matrix
| Debt Item | Interest Rate | Fix Effort | Impact if Ignored | Priority Score |

Interest rate = How much worse does this get over time?
- High: Gets worse with every feature (architectural)
- Medium: Slows development occasionally
- Low: Nuisance but stable

## Payoff Plan

### Quick Wins (< 1 day each)
| Item | Effort | Value | When |

### Sprint Allocation
Recommended: Dedicate {{X}}% of each sprint to debt reduction.

### Quarterly Plan
| Quarter | Focus Area | Items | Expected Outcome |

## Tracking Template
| Sprint | Debt Work Done | New Debt Introduced | Net Position |

## Making the Case
- Metrics to show stakeholders why debt matters
- Before/after scenarios for top-priority items
- Developer productivity impact estimation

Tips

• Track new debt introduced alongside debt paid off - if you're creating more than you're fixing the situation is getting worse
• The interest rate concept is the most powerful tool for prioritizing - high-interest debt should be paid first
• Quick wins build momentum and team morale before tackling larger items
• Present debt to stakeholders as risk and velocity impact not as a technical wish list