An empirical study of the systemic and technical migration towards microservices

Area of Science:

• Software Engineering
• Information Systems
• Cloud Computing

Background:

• Organizations increasingly adopt microservices architecture for agility and effectiveness.
• Microservice migrations are complex, long-running, and multifaceted endeavors.
• Modernizing software architecture and cloud transitions drive microservice adoption.

Purpose of the Study:

• To comprehensively map the microservice migration journey.
• To detail the technical and systemic changes involved in microservice adoption.
• To analyze the long-term impact of microservice transitions on organizations.

Main Methods:

• An inductive, qualitative research approach was employed.
• Data was collected through 19 interviews and analysis of 215 Stack Overflow discussions.
• Grounded theory techniques were used for data analysis.

Main Results:

• The study depicts microservice migration from structural to technical engineer-level changes.
• A theory outlining 2 modes of change, 14 activities, and 53 solution outcomes was developed.
• Architectural change is iterative, requiring both long-term and short-term perspectives, integrating business and technical understanding.

Conclusions:

• Microservice migration requires a holistic approach, addressing both technical implementation and systemic organizational change.
• Successful migration involves iterative architectural adjustments and a paradigm shift in software development practices.
• Establishing supporting artifacts is crucial for effective technical microservice migration.