Balancing Coupling in Software Design: Universal Design Principles for Architecting Modular Software Systems

Chapter 10

Balancing Coupling

A change in the east echoes in west,

Software design is like a game of chess.

Near or far, how to balance the ends?

As consultants proclaim—it depends!

In Part I, you learned that coupling is an integral aspect of any system. The way components of a system interact can make the system either more modular or complex. Part II delved into the manifestations of coupling across the following three dimensions:

1. Strength: You learned that if two or more components are connected, they share knowledge. The type of that shared knowledge can be evaluated using the integration strength model. The more knowledge components share, the higher the possibility of cascading changes rippling through the system.

2. Space: The physical ...