The Broken Window Theory of Software Development
In the late 1980s, the crime rate in New York City reached an all-time peak. Attempts were made to understand this crime wave and fight it better. The " Broken Window Theory " was advanced to explain how New York and other major urban cities in the United States have reached this sad situation. The theory gives as an analogy a house with a broken window. Passerby looking at it will deduce that its owners don't care much about it (they didn't fix the broken window) or are absent, and those with malicious intents will tend to damage the house. It might start by breaking another window and drawing graffiti on a sidewall. It will end with the total vandalism of the house and kicking out its inhabitants. Several experienced software developers can attest to having witnessed a metaphorical broken code window in some of their projects. It might have started with some code copied a few times. A golden rule here holds that twice is ok, but three times and you...