Managing Technical Debt in Information Systems to Optimize Performance

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School of Business | Bachelor's thesis
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Date

2025

Department

Tieto- ja palvelujohtamisen laitos

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Mcode

Degree programme

Tieto- ja palvelujohtaminen

Language

en

Pages

34

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Abstract

Technical debt in information systems represents the long-term consequences of adopting inefficient solutions for short-term gains. This thesis examines its causes, manifestations, and management practices through a literature review and an expert interview. The findings indicate that technical debt commonly arises from design trade-offs, outdated architectures, limited documentation, and short-term delivery pressures. These factors collectively reduce maintainability, restrict scalability, impair system performance, and generate tangible operational inefficiencies. Effective management of technical debt in information systems requires systematic documentation, prioritization of high-debt areas, and continuous developer education, complemented by emerging tools such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to support debt detection and modernization planning. The scope of this research is limited to information system management.

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Thesis advisor

Bragge, Johanna

Keywords

technical debt, information systems, software development, system modernization, legacy systems

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https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-202510198263

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[kand] Kauppakorkeakoulu / BIZ