ava Spring MVC E-commerce Repository Audit: Technical Debt Analysis

Top Technical Debt Hotspots (Ranked by Impact)

1. Outdated Spring Framework Version

Impact: Critical

• Security vulnerabilities in older Spring versions (pre-4.x)
• Missing modern features and performance improvements
• Limited compatibility with newer Java versions

Recommended Fix:

• Incrementally upgrade to Spring 5.x
• Update dependencies in pom.xml/build.gradle
• Refactor deprecated API usages
• Implement comprehensive regression testing

2. Monolithic Architecture

Impact: High

• Difficult to scale individual components
• Tight coupling between modules
• Challenging deployment and maintenance

Recommended Fix:

• Identify bounded contexts for potential microservices
• Extract shared services to separate modules
• Implement API gateway pattern
• Consider gradual migration to microservices architecture

3. Inadequate Test Coverage

Impact: High

• Regression risks during refactoring
• Undocumented business logic
• Difficulty onboarding new developers

Recommended Fix:

• Implement unit tests for core business logic (JUnit)
• Add integration tests for critical flows (Spring Test)
• Set up automated test coverage reporting (JaCoCo)
• Establish minimum coverage thresholds (70%+)

4. Outdated Authentication Mechanism

Impact: High

• Security vulnerabilities in older auth patterns
• Missing modern security features (MFA, OAuth)
• Poor user experience

Recommended Fix:

• Migrate to Spring Security 5.x
• Implement OAuth2/OIDC for authentication
• Add support for MFA
• Update password hashing algorithms (bcrypt/Argon2)

5. Direct JDBC/Hibernate Usage

Impact: Medium

• SQL injection vulnerabilities
• Inefficient database access patterns
• Inconsistent transaction management

Recommended Fix:

• Standardize on Spring Data repositories
• Implement proper entity relationships
• Add database migration tool (Flyway/Liquibase)
• Optimize query performance with proper indexing

6. Lack of API Documentation

Impact: Medium

• Difficult integration for third parties
• Knowledge silos within development team
• Inconsistent API design

Recommended Fix:

• Implement Swagger/OpenAPI documentation
• Add comprehensive JavaDocs
• Create API style guide
• Document authentication/authorization requirements

7. Frontend/Backend Coupling

Impact: Medium

• JSP/JSTL templates tightly coupled to controllers
• Limited reusability of frontend components
• Difficult to implement modern UI patterns

Recommended Fix:

• Separate frontend and backend concerns
• Create RESTful API endpoints
• Consider migrating to modern frontend framework
• Implement proper CORS configuration

8. Insufficient Logging and Monitoring

Impact: Medium

• Difficulty troubleshooting production issues
• Limited visibility into system performance
• Lack of audit trail for security events

Recommended Fix:

• Implement structured logging (SLF4J + Logback)
• Add request tracing (Spring Cloud Sleuth)
• Set up centralized logging (ELK stack)
• Implement health check endpoints

9. Hardcoded Configuration

Impact: Low

• Environment-specific values in code
• Difficult deployment across environments
• Security risks from exposed credentials

Recommended Fix:

• Externalize configuration (application.properties/YAML)
• Implement environment-specific profiles
• Use secret management for sensitive values
• Add configuration validation on startup

10. Lack of Build Automation

Impact: Low

• Inconsistent build processes
• Manual deployment steps
• No dependency vulnerability scanning

Recommended Fix:

• Modernize build system (Maven/Gradle)
• Implement CI/CD pipeline
• Add dependency vulnerability scanning
• Automate deployment process

Implementation Roadmap

1. Immediate (1-2 months):
   • Security vulnerabilities (Spring upgrade, auth fixes)
   • Build automation and CI/CD
   • Logging improvements
2. Short-term (3-6 months):
   • Test coverage improvements
   • Configuration externalization
   • API documentation
3. Medium-term (6-12 months):
   • Database access refactoring
   • Frontend/backend separation
   • Monitoring implementation
4. Long-term (12+ months):
   • Architectural refactoring toward microservices
   • Complete modernization of frontend
   • Advanced security features