A system and method to automatically and continuously update the urgency rating of a backlog item associated with a technical debt item in a software development project are described. The technical debt represents potential additional work or rework associated with current code. The method includes a user defining a plurality of components that comprise the software development project. The method also includes a processor associating the technical debt with one or more components of the plurality of components, and the processor updating the urgency of the backlog item associated with the technical debt according to a function based on a development event associated with at least one of the one or more components.