# YAGNI Is About the Cost of Speculative Structure, Not Code

DevFeed: [YAGNI Is About the Cost of Speculative Structure, Not Code](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/the-cost-yagni-was-never-about-39984.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://newsletter.kentbeck.com/p/the-cost-yagni-was-never-about>)

Author: Kent Beck

Published: 2026-06-25T12:59:56Z

Content type: opinion

Language: en

Sources: [Software Design: Tidy First?](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/software-design-tidy-first.md>)

Topics: [structure](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/structure.md>), [Code](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/code.md>), [Optimization](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/optimization.md>)

Tags: [code](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/code.md>), [structure](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/structure.md>)

## AI overview

The article argues that YAGNI is not primarily about saving the effort or expense of writing code. It is about avoiding speculative structure built before the required feature is understood, because premature structure limits future options and may later need to be worked around or removed. Waiting is presented as a timing decision rather than laziness or a rejection of design.

## Source excerpt

If you think YAGNI is about saving effort, cheap generation should retire it. It doesn't. Here's why.