When we program, we’re stuck with the same brain with its same tendencies to make mistakes. Sure, in programming we can go back and recheck the code. The problem is that we have to do that repeatedly—the sheer complexity of software makes it impossible to hold all of the details in our heads. That means our brain works with a simplified view. As soon as we drop details, we run the risk of missing something.
This is why we need to guide our decisions by objective data. The good part is that this data is based on how we actually work and interact with the system. Let’s see how.
Remember the crash course in geographical profiling of crimes, back in Learn Geographical Profiling of Crimes? We learned that linking related crimes allows us to make predictions and take possible counter-steps. We can do the same with code.
In programming, our version-control data allows us to trace changes over series of commits to spot patterns in the modifications. One prominent pattern is called temporal coupling, and you can see an example in the following figure.

Modules change together in temporal coupling. This is different from traditional coupling in that there may not be any explicit software dependencies between modules. There is a hidden, implicit dependency, which means a change in one predictably results in a change in the coupled module. Remember what happened in our initial fictional example with FuelInjector? Let’s see how temporal coupling can help us detect and fix this problem.