Modularity – Often Desired, but Rarely Achieved

Abstract

“Everything should be modular” is an exalted goal stated by almost every architect – but is it really possible to achieve this goal? In this experience paper, we share our lessons learned across a number of restructuring projects that went modular. We discuss typical business motivations, restructuring efforts starting with good intentions, and reconstruction reality striking back. In retrospective, we analyze typical pitfalls to be circumvented. Examples illustrate our findings and support a truism too often ignored by architects: everything has its price, and more often than not, the price for modularity is a lot higher than initially estimated.