simplification

To safely remove dead code, apply Chesterton's Fence by first understanding why the code exists, then prove its removal is safe through explicit criteria, guardrails, and tests before deleting it entirely.

The best way to prevent premature abstraction during a code refactor is to apply YAGNI principles, preferring deletion over extraction and introducing new wrappers or interfaces only when strictly necessary to reduce coupling.

Chesterton's Fence applies to code cleanup by enforcing that you fully understand the original purpose and rationale of existing code before altering or removing it, ensuring changes are justified and comprehensible.

You should avoid extracting a function or interface during a PR review when the extraction introduces unnecessary indirection, creates single-caller helpers, or violates YAGNI discipline by adding abstractions not yet required.

You should delete unused code rather than commenting it out during refactoring, relying on version control to preserve history and rationale, which keeps the codebase lean and maintainable.

Yes, you can use this simplification process for architectural decisions, applying YAGNI and dead-code removal to evaluate new abstractions and wrappers to keep the architecture lean and justified.