Cost of change measures the effort, expense, risk, or disruption associated with modifying a software system after a design decision has been made. It gives significance to decisions: changes with wider architectural consequences deserve greater attention. section 3.1.2
A small integration change
While modifying an integration, a team changes a name. The change appears local, but dependencies across systems create a ripple of updates. The decision may not alter the fundamental structure, yet its implementation cost makes it architecturally significant. section 3.1.2
Using cost of change as an architectural lens connects design decisions to the system’s fundamental structure. Structural changes influence modularity, changeability, and adaptability, which matter when requirements such as BigScreen’s “Anytime, Anywhere” campaign challenge an existing ticketing system. section 3.1.2
