Goodbye, Clean Code
The author seems to only look at a narrow case that supports his argument. Imagine you start out with 2 shapes and 4 directions, but you eventually get additional requirements for 20 more shapes and 4 more directions. Now you have much more code, introducing room for errors, making it harder to change, and making it harder for new employees to understand.I agree that he should have told his coworker ahead of time, but I also think his coworker should be open to understanding why his code may cause problems and be ok with it being changed.