The Broken Window Theory in software development warns that messy code patterns encourage more disorder, yet teams often apply YAGNI and KISS principles so strictly that simple solutions accumulate into technical debt. As codebases grow, developers tend to copy established patterns rather than introduce needed abstractions, creating a cycle where bad patterns perpetuate themselves.
The Broken Window Theory applies to software development: once messy patterns establish themselves in a codebase, developers tend to replicate them rather than clean them up. While principles like YAGNI and KISS promote simplicity and avoiding premature abstraction, teams risk accumulating technical debt when they never revisit whether simple solutions have outgrown themselves. Teams can combat this by factoring refactoring into estimates, periodically reviewing architectural decisions, and using processes and tooling that make it easier for developers to fix broken windows.