Relationships Between Communication Structure and Software Architecture: An Empirical Investigation of the Conway's Law at the Federal University of Pernambuco

Abstract

Aim - The goal of this study is to investigate the relationships between the communication structure of a software team and the resulting architecture of the software developed under the perspective of Conway's Law. Method - A quasi-experiment was designed in an industrial context in which the results of two teams were compared. One team worked using an agile approach based on Scrum with daily meetings and frequent daily communication. The other team used a more traditional approach based on hierarchical command-and-control style of management with very limited communication between team members. We observed both teams during the project, interviewed participants, and carried out a focus group to collect and compare impressions of team members at the end of the projects. Results - We found large differences between architectural designs of the two teams, as predicted. Hierarchical team presented best results with respect to efficiency and efficacy of development. Agile team produced a simpler solution and the system design was more coupled than hierarchical team. Conclusion - Our findings provided partial support to Conway's Law, but some surprising results were found.