Conwaytörvény

Conway's Law is an observation in computing and organizational studies that states "Organizations which design systems ... are constrained to produce designs which are copies of the communication structures of these organizations." Essentially, the structure of a software system or any designed artifact will often mirror the communication patterns of the team that created it. If a company has three teams working on a project, the resulting software might have three distinct modules that reflect the division of labor and communication channels between those teams.

The law was first articulated by computer scientist Melvin Conway in 1968. It suggests that the way a system is designed is not solely a technical decision, but is heavily influenced by organizational factors. If a team is siloed, with limited communication between its members, the system they build may exhibit a similar lack of integration. Conversely, highly collaborative teams might produce more cohesive and interconnected systems.

Conway's Law has implications for how software systems are structured and how organizations are structured to build them. To create a tightly coupled system, an organization might need tightly coupled communication. Conversely, if a modular, loosely coupled system is desired, the organization's communication structures should ideally reflect this. Understanding Conway's Law can help managers and architects anticipate the potential impact of their organizational design on the systems they produce and vice versa.