Inverse Conway Maneuver

Coined by Jonny LeRoy and Matt Simons (ThoughtWorks) in Cutter IT Journal, December 2010. See also Inverse Conway Maneuver - Thoughtworks Technology Radar

Conway’s Law observes that systems mirror the communication structures of the organizations that build them. The Inverse Conway Maneuver turns this around: deliberately structure your teams to match the system architecture you want to produce.

Instead of accepting that accidental organizational structure determines product architecture, the Inverse Conway Maneuver treats team design as a strategic tool. If you want loosely coupled services, create small autonomous teams with clear ownership boundaries. If you want a tightly integrated product, create cross-functional teams that share code and coordinate closely.