# Adam Tornhill: Prioritizing Technical Debt With Behavioral Code Analysis

EP-039 | January 20, 2020 | 42:39



Topics: Technical Debt, Code Quality


Robby speaks with Adam Tornhill, Founder of Empear and CodeScene. They discuss the benefits of having clear boundaries between teams, strategies for prioritizing where to start tackling technical debt, and how to improve the onboarding experience for developers new to a software codebase. Adam also shares a rare example of a successful rewrite project.




## Guest

**Adam Tornhill** — Founder & CEO, CodeScene

Creator of CodeScene and author of 'Your Code as a Crime Scene' and 'Software Design X-Rays'. Pioneered behavioral code analysis for managing technical debt.



## Show Notes

Robby speaks with Adam Tornhill, founder of Empear and CodeScene. They discuss the benefits of having clear boundaries between teams, strategies for prioritizing where to start tackling technical debt, and how to improve the onboarding experience for developers new to a software codebase. Adam also shares a rare example of a successful rewrite project.

## Helpful Links

- Follow Adam [on Twitter](https://twitter.com/AdamTornhill)
- [Adam's Website](https://adamtornhill.com/)
- [Empear](https://empear.com/)
- [CodeScene](https://codescene.io/)
- [Book] Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
- [Your Code as a Crime Scene](https://pragprog.com/book/atcrime/your-code-as-a-crime-scene)
- [Book] [Software Design X-Rays](https://pragprog.com/book/atevol/software-design-x-rays)
- Adam's TedX Talk on [Code, Crime, Complexity](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJ_hplxTYJw)

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## Frequently Asked Questions


### What is behavioral code analysis?

Adam Tornhill's behavioral code analysis uses version control data to identify hotspots — files that change frequently and have high complexity. This data-driven approach helps teams prioritize which technical debt to address first.


### How does Adam Tornhill recommend prioritizing technical debt?

Adam suggests using code change frequency combined with complexity metrics to find the highest-impact areas. Files that change often and are complex should be refactored first because they create the most friction.


### What is CodeScene and how does it help with maintainability?

CodeScene is a tool created by Adam Tornhill that analyzes code repositories to identify technical debt hotspots, team coordination issues, and code health trends using behavioral data from version control history.





## Transcript