Toolbox

Design Debt Audit Checklist

A fast audit that surfaces drift, gaps and risky UI areas.

What it is

Purpose and scope.

A checklist that makes design debt visible and measurable across teams.

When to use

Signals this is the right tool.

When consistency is slipping or rework is climbing.

How to use

Minimum steps to get value quickly.

Export component list from codebase: grep for 'export.*function' or component patterns
Cross-reference with design system: mark each as In System / Partial / Missing / Duplicate
Score drift by surface: for each feature area, count token violations (hardcoded colors, spacing)
Run automated a11y scan (axe or Lighthouse) on 5 highest-traffic pages
Create severity matrix: P1 = high usage + high drift, P2 = medium, P3 = low usage or low drift
Schedule 1 P1 fix per sprint until critical debt is cleared

Before you start

Prerequisites and when to skip this.

Prerequisites

When NOT to use this

Consider instead

Unsure if system adoption is the problem: Run user research on pain points before assuming debt is the issue
Leadership wants metrics but won't fund fixes: Start with one high-visibility fix to prove ROI before full audit

Downloads

Grab the files and ship.

Keep the loop tight.