Complexity Management

Code Complexity Management

Maintain exceptional code quality standards using PHPInsights in this Symfony-based microservice. This skill ensures complexity stays manageable while preserving hexagonal architecture, DDD patterns, and CQRS design.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

• PHPInsights checks fail (make phpinsights returns errors)
• Cyclomatic complexity exceeds thresholds
• Code quality score drops below 100%
• Architecture score falls below 100%
• Style score drops below 100%
• Complexity score falls below thresholds (93% for src/, 95% for tests/)
• Adding new features that increase complexity
• Refactoring existing code for better maintainability
• Before committing code changes (proactive quality check)

⚡ Quick Start

New to complexity refactoring? Start with the Quick Start Guide for a fast-track workflow with immediate action steps.

Protected Quality Thresholds

CRITICAL: These thresholds are defined in phpinsights.php (for src/) and phpinsights-tests.php (for tests/) and must NEVER be lowered:

// phpinsights.php (source code in src/)
'requirements' => [
    'min-quality' => 100,      // Code quality
    'min-complexity' => 93,    // Cyclomatic complexity for src/
    'min-architecture' => 100, // Architecture compliance
    'min-style' => 100,        // Coding style
],

// phpinsights-tests.php (test code in tests/)
'requirements' => [
    'min-quality' => 95,       // Code quality for tests
    'min-complexity' => 95,    // Cyclomatic complexity for tests/
    'min-architecture' => 90,  // Architecture compliance for tests
    'min-style' => 95,         // Coding style for tests
],

Policy: If PHPInsights fails, fix the code - NEVER lower these thresholds.

⚠️ CRITICAL POLICY: NEVER CHANGE CONFIG

╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║  When PHPInsights fails, you MUST FIX THE CODE.               ║
║  NEVER lower thresholds in phpinsights.php.                   ║
║                                                               ║
║  ❌ FORBIDDEN: Changing config to pass checks                 ║
║  ✅ REQUIRED:  Refactoring code to meet standards             ║
╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

Protected thresholds are non-negotiable:

For source code (src/):

• min-quality: 100% (never lower)
• min-complexity: 93% (never lower)
• min-architecture: 100% (never lower)
• min-style: 100% (never lower)

For tests (tests/):

• min-quality: 95% (never lower)
• min-complexity: 95% (never lower)
• min-architecture: 90% (never lower)
• min-style: 95% (never lower)

If you're tempted to lower a threshold, it means the code needs refactoring, not the config.

Core Workflow

1. Identify Complex Classes

First, find which classes need refactoring:

# Find top 20 most complex classes (default)
make analyze-complexity

# Find top 10 classes
make analyze-complexity N=10

# Export as JSON for tracking
make analyze-complexity-json N=20 > complexity-report.json

# Export as CSV for spreadsheets
make analyze-complexity-csv N=15 > complexity.csv

Output shows for each class:

• CCN (Cyclomatic Complexity): > 15 is critical
• WMC (Weighted Method Count): Sum of all method complexities
• Avg Complexity: CCN ÷ Methods (target: < 5)
• Max Complexity: Highest complexity of any single method
• Maintainability Index: 0-100 (target: > 65)

See: analysis-tools.md for complete tools documentation

2. Run PHPInsights Analysis

# Using project make command (recommended)
make phpinsights

# Direct execution with verbosity
vendor/bin/phpinsights -v

# Analyze specific directory
vendor/bin/phpinsights analyse src/Customer

# Generate JSON report for parsing
vendor/bin/phpinsights --format=json > insights-report.json

3. Interpret Results

PHPInsights provides four scores:

[CODE] 100.0 pts       ✅ Target: 100%
[COMPLEXITY] 93.5 pts  ✅ Target: 93%+ (src), 95%+ (tests)
[ARCHITECTURE] 100 pts ✅ Target: 100%
[STYLE] 100.0 pts      ✅ Target: 100%

If any score is below threshold, identify issues:

# Look for issues by severity
✗ [Complexity] Method `CustomerCommandHandler::handle` has cyclomatic complexity of 12
✗ [Architecture] Class `CustomerRepository` violates layer dependency rules
✗ [Style] Line exceeds 100 characters in CustomerTransformer.php:45

4. Prioritize Fixes

Priority Order:

1. CRITICAL (Complexity > 15): Immediate refactoring required
2. HIGH (Architecture violations): Breaks hexagonal/DDD boundaries
3. MEDIUM (Complexity 10-15): Plan refactoring
4. LOW (Style issues): Quick fixes, often auto-fixable

5. Apply Fixes

Based on issue type:

For Complexity Issues → See refactoring-strategies.md For Metric Details → See reference/complexity-metrics.md For Common Errors → See reference/troubleshooting.md

6. Verify Improvements

# Re-run PHPInsights
make phpinsights

# Verify all thresholds pass
✅ Code quality: 100%
✅ Complexity: 93%+ (src), 95%+ (tests)
✅ Architecture: 100%
✅ Style: 100%

Quick Fixes by Issue Type

Cyclomatic Complexity Too High

Problem: Method has too many decision points (if/else/switch/loops)

First, identify which classes need refactoring:

# Find top 10 most complex classes
make analyze-complexity N=10

Solutions:

1. Extract methods: Break complex method into smaller private methods
2. Strategy pattern: Replace conditionals with polymorphism
3. Early returns: Reduce nesting with guard clauses
4. Command pattern: Separate command handling logic

See refactoring-strategies.md for DDD/CQRS-specific patterns.

Architecture Violations

Problem: Layer dependencies violated (e.g., Domain depending on Infrastructure)

Solutions:

1. Review layer boundaries: Domain → Application → Infrastructure
2. Use interfaces: Define contracts in Domain, implement in Infrastructure
3. Dependency injection: Inject dependencies through constructors
4. Repository pattern: Keep data access in Infrastructure layer

Project Architecture:

src/{BoundedContext}/
├── Domain/           # No external dependencies
│   ├── Entity/
│   ├── ValueObject/
│   └── Repository/  # Interfaces only
├── Application/      # Depends on Domain
│   ├── Command/
│   ├── CommandHandler/
│   └── Event/
└── Infrastructure/   # Depends on Domain + Application
    └── Repository/   # Implementations

Style Issues

Problem: Code doesn't meet PSR-12 or Symfony coding standards

Solutions:

# Auto-fix most style issues
make phpcsfixer

# Re-run PHPInsights to verify
make phpinsights

Line Length > 100 Characters

Problem: Lines exceed configured limit (100 chars)

Config:

LineLengthSniff::class => [
    'lineLimit' => 100,
    'ignoreComments' => true,
],

Solutions:

1. Break long method calls into multiple lines
2. Extract complex expressions into variables
3. Use named parameters (PHP 8+)
4. Refactor long argument lists into DTOs

Project-Specific Configuration

Excluded Sniffs

These sniffs are intentionally disabled in phpinsights.php:

'remove' => [
    UnusedParameterSniff::class,              // Allow unused params in interfaces
    SuperfluousInterfaceNamingSniff::class,   // Allow "Interface" suffix
    SuperfluousExceptionNamingSniff::class,   // Allow "Exception" suffix
    SpaceAfterNotSniff::class,                // Symfony style preference
    ForbiddenSetterSniff::class,              // Allow setters where needed
    UseSpacingSniff::class,                   // Symfony style preference
],

Do NOT create issues for these patterns - they're explicitly allowed.

Excluded Files

Some files are excluded from specific checks:

ForbiddenNormalClasses::class => [
    'exclude' => [
        'src/Shared/Infrastructure/Bus/Command/InMemorySymfonyCommandBus',
        'src/Shared/Infrastructure/Bus/Event/InMemorySymfonyEventBus',
        'src/Core/Customer/Domain/Entity/Customer',
    ],
],

These are intentionally not marked final - architectural decision.

Integration with Other Skills

• quality-standards skill: Broader quality enforcement including Psalm, Deptrac
• ci-workflow skill: PHPInsights runs as part of CI checks
• testing-workflow skill: Maintain test coverage while refactoring
• database-migrations skill: Ensure entity changes maintain architecture compliance

Common Patterns in This Codebase

Command Handler Complexity

Command handlers should have low complexity:

// ✅ GOOD: Low complexity (2-3)
final readonly class CreateCustomerCommandHandler implements CommandHandlerInterface
{
    public function __construct(
        private CustomerRepository $repository,
        private DomainEventPublisher $publisher
    ) {}

    public function __invoke(CreateCustomerCommand $command): void
    {
        $customer = Customer::create(
            $command->id,
            $command->name,
            $command->email
        );

        $this->repository->save($customer);
        $this->publisher->publish(...$customer->pullDomainEvents());
    }
}

If complexity is high: Business logic likely in wrong layer - move to Domain.

Domain Entity Complexity

Domain entities can have higher complexity for business rules:

// ✅ Acceptable: Complexity in domain logic
class Customer extends AggregateRoot
{
    public function updateSubscription(SubscriptionPlan $plan): void
    {
        // Complex validation logic is appropriate here
        $this->validateSubscriptionChange($plan);
        $this->applyDiscount($plan);
        $this->record(new SubscriptionChanged($this->id, $plan));
    }
}

If too complex: Extract to Domain Service or Value Object.

Success Criteria

After running this skill, verify:

✅ make phpinsights passes without errors ✅ Code quality: 100% ✅ Complexity: ≥ 93% (src), ≥ 95% (tests) ✅ Architecture: 100% ✅ Style: 100% ✅ No layer boundary violations (checked by Deptrac) ✅ All tests still pass (make unit-tests, make integration-tests) ✅ Code remains aligned with hexagonal architecture

Additional Resources

Quick References

• ⚡ Quick Start: quick-start.md - Fast-track workflow for immediate action
• 🔧 Analysis Tools: analysis-tools.md - Complete guide to complexity analysis commands

Detailed Guides

• Refactoring Patterns: refactoring-strategies.md - Modern PHP patterns with real-world examples
• Understanding Metrics: reference/complexity-metrics.md - What each metric means
• Troubleshooting: reference/troubleshooting.md - Common issues and solutions
• Monitoring: reference/monitoring.md - Track improvements over time

External Resources

• PHPInsights Documentation: https://phpinsights.com/
• Project Architecture: See CLAUDE.md for hexagonal/DDD/CQRS patterns

Converted and distributed by TomeVault — claim your Tome and manage your conversions.