# Quantitative Analysis of Technical Debt and Pattern Violation in Large Language Model Architectures

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.04273 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.04273/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 3 of its 11 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 3 Dec 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 3 of 3)

- [Evaluating Large Language Models Trained on Code](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2107.03374/) (2021)
- [Large Language Models for Software Engineering: A Systematic Literature Review](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.10620/) (2023)
- [Software Engineering at Google](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1702.01715/) (2017)

## Abstract (arXiv)

As Large Language Models (LLMs) transition from code completion tools to autonomous system architects, their impact on long-term software maintainability remains unquantified. While existing research benchmarks functional correctness (pass@k), this study presents the first empirical framework to measure "Architectural Erosion" and the accumulation of Technical Debt in AI-synthesized microservices. We conducted a comparative pilot study of three state-of-the-art models (GPT-5.1, Claude 4.5 Sonnet, and Llama 3 8B) by prompting them to implement a standardized Book Lending Microservice under strict Hexagonal Architecture constraints. Utilizing Abstract Syntax Tree (AST) parsing, we find that while proprietary models achieve high architectural conformance (0% violation rate for GPT-5.1), open-weights models exhibit critical divergence. Specifically, Llama 3 demonstrated an 80% Architectural Violation Rate, frequently bypassing interface adapters to create illegal circular dependencies between Domain and Infrastructure layers. Furthermore, we identified a phenomenon of "Implementation Laziness," where open-weights models generated 60% fewer Logical Lines of Code (LLOC) than their proprietary counterparts, effectively omitting complex business logic to satisfy token constraints. These findings suggest that without automated architectural linting, utilizing smaller open-weights models for system scaffolding accelerates the accumulation of structural technical debt.