Brittle Design
Brittle design is a software development concept referring to a system or codebase that is fragile, difficult to modify, and prone to breaking when changes are made. It often results from poor architectural decisions, tight coupling between components, lack of modularity, or insufficient testing. This makes maintenance costly and risky, as small updates can cause unexpected failures across the system.
Developers should learn about brittle design to recognize and avoid anti-patterns that lead to unmaintainable software, especially in long-term projects or large teams. It is crucial when refactoring legacy code, implementing new features, or ensuring scalability, as understanding brittleness helps prioritize robust design principles like loose coupling and high cohesion. This knowledge reduces technical debt and improves code quality in agile or iterative development environments.