Software Architect's Handbook

Disadvantages of layered architectures

Although layered architectures are commonly used, and for good reasons, there are disadvantages to using them. Although the layers can be designed to be independent, a requirement change may require changes in multiple layers. This type of coupling lowers the overall agility of the software application.

For example, adding a new field will require changes to multiple layers: the presentation layer so that it can be displayed, the business layer so that it can be validated/saved/processed, and the data layer because it will need to be added to the database. This can complicate deployment because, even for a change such as this, an application may require multiple parts (or even the entire application) ...