🔗 Symptoms of bad software design

What are the telltale signs that software design has gone wrong? Marcos F. Lobo identifies four crucial symptoms: rigidity, fragility, immobility, and viscosity. Rigidity surfaces when a change triggers unexpected complications across modules, often due to excessive coupling. Fragility appears when one fix causes multiple issues elsewhere.

Immobility is evident when code is so entangled it's easier to rewrite than reuse. Viscosity represents the tendency to opt for quick, dirty solutions instead of adhering to best practices. Each symptom carries a solution—like employing the Strategy Pattern to combat rigidity or using Clean Architecture to ensure code reusability. Lobo emphasizes that identifying these design flaws paves the way for effective refactoring and better software practices.