Microservice architectures promise independent evolution through loose coupling, yet large systems often exhibit strong dependency concentration around a small set of services. In an exploratory industrial case study of a product composed of 267 microservices, we triangulated multiple dependency signals -compile-time, run-time, and task dependencies- and iteratively validated our interpretations with practitioners. We observed a recurring macro-structure in the dependency network that resembles a black hole: a dense core of dependency magnets, a transitional region of services increasingly entangled with the core, and an outer region of lightly connected services. Based on these observations, we propose the dependency black hole theory, mapping the network to the black hole anatomy of a singularity, an event horizon, and an accretion disk, and formulating three hypotheses about how dependency concentration emerges and evolves at scale. The theory provides an explanatory lens for reasoning about dependency growth, identifying services at risk of becoming dependency magnets, and motivating governance interventions. We outline practical implications and directions for longitudinal and multi-case validation.
Wed 24 JunDisplayed time zone: Amsterdam, Berlin, Bern, Rome, Stockholm, Vienna change
13:30 - 15:30 | Microservice Evolution & MigrationResearch Papers / Journal First / New and Emerging Ideas / Software Architecture in Practice / at Theatre 2 Chair(s): Wilhelm Hasselbring Kiel University | ||
13:30 45mTalk | Five Years of Microfrontends at Kiavi Software Architecture in Practice Michael Keeling Kiavi | ||
14:15 20mResearch paper | Comparison of static analysis architecture recovery tools for microservice applicationsJournal First Journal First Simon Schneider Hamburg University of Technology, Alexander Bakhtin University of Oulu, Xiaozhou Li , Jacopo Soldani University of Pisa, Italy, Antonio Brogi Università di Pisa, Tomas Cerny University of Arizona, Riccardo Scandariato Hamburg University of Technology, Davide Taibi University of Southern Denmark and University of Oulu DOI | ||
14:35 20mResearch paper | LLMs for Architectural Refactoring: An Exploratory study on Monoliths to Microservices Research Papers Aneesh Sambu , Roberta Capuano University of L'Aquila, Italy, Eoan O'Dea University of L'Aquila and University of Groningen, Karthik Vaidhyanathan IIIT Hyderabad, Henry Muccini University of L'Aquila, Italy File Attached | ||
14:55 20mPaper | The Dependency Black Hole New and Emerging Ideas Ehsan Zabardast Nordea / Blekinge Institute of Technology, Bhuwan Paudel Blekinge Institute of Technology, Javier Gonzalez-Huerta Blekinge Institute of Technology Pre-print | ||
15:15 15mResearch paper | Interference-Aware Cross-Application Placement: A Multi-Objective Optimization Approach for Microservice Cluster Research Papers Iqra Zafar Hasso Plattner Institute, Digital Engineering Faculty, University of Potsdam, Christian Medeiros Adriano Hasso Plattner Institute, University of Potsdam, Holger Giese Hasso Plattner Institute, University of Potsdam Link to publication DOI Pre-print | ||