Terese Besker, PhD

The overarching goal of my research is twofold. The first goal is to empirically study and understand in what way and to what extent, Technical Debt influences today’s software development work, specifically with the intention to provide more quantitative insight into the field. Second, to understand which different initiatives can reduce the negative effects of Technical Debt and also which factors are important to consider when implementing such initiatives. I studied the negative consequences from several different perspectives, such as the impact on quality, productivity, and workers’ morale, etc.

I obtained my Ph.D. in Software Engineering at end of 2020 at Chalmers University of Technology Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, where I was supervised by Professor Jan Bosch and Professor Antonio Martini. The title of my thesis was "Technical Debt: An empirical investigation of its harmfulness and on management strategies in industry”.

All my research during my Ph.D. was undertaken in collaboration with large international software developing organizations, and was conducted within Software Center.

Before starting my Ph.D. position, I worked as a senior software engineer (having several different roles) for almost 20 years, developing complex, real-time, embedded software applications. I also have a master’s degree in IT management from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden.