Change Coupling: Why One-Line Fixes Touch Ten Files
Summary
The article defines Change Coupling as a decision-support tool rather than a strict quality metric, emphasizing that perfect decoupling is not the goal. It explains multiple forms of coupling (physical, logical, temporal, data) and presents a Matrix to reason about how changes propagate, including examples of cohesive vs. non-cohesive changes and the role of Dependency Inversion. It also offers a practical, three-step approach to making change coupling actionable: identify opportunities, coordinate and plan changes, and commit to regular reviews.