Brittleness
Brittleness is a software quality attribute that describes a system's tendency to break easily when changes are made, often due to tight coupling, lack of modularity, or poor design. It indicates that small modifications can cause widespread failures or require extensive rework, making the codebase difficult to maintain and evolve. This concept is critical in software engineering for assessing maintainability and robustness.
Developers should understand brittleness to avoid creating fragile systems that hinder agility and increase technical debt, especially in large-scale or long-lived projects. It is crucial when refactoring legacy code, designing modular architectures, or implementing continuous integration, as reducing brittleness improves testability and deployment reliability. Recognizing brittleness helps in making informed decisions about code reviews, testing strategies, and dependency management.