Microservices a Definition Analyzed by {\ss}MACH

TL;DR

This paper introduces the { ext{ exttwosuperior}}MACH method, a unified approach for software management descriptions, and applies it to analyze and clarify the microservice architecture concept.

Contribution

It presents the { ext{ exttwosuperior}}MACH method as a novel, comprehensive strategy for software management documentation and demonstrates its application to microservices.

Findings

{ ext{ exttwosuperior}}MACH effectively clarifies microservice concepts.

The method identifies management gaps in microservice development.

{ ext{ exttwosuperior}}MACH improves understanding and communication in software projects.

Abstract

Managing software artifacts is one of the most essential aspects of computer science. It enables to develop, operate, and maintain software in an engineer-like manner. Therefore, numerous concrete strategies, methods, best practices, and concepts are available. A combination of such methods must be adequate, efficient, applicable, and effective for a concrete project. Eelsewise, the developers, managers, and testers should understand it to avoid chaos. Therefore, we exemplify the {\ss}MACH method that provides software guidance. The method can point out missing management aspects (e.g., the V-model is not usable for software operation), identify problems of knowledge transfer (e.g., how is responsible for requirements), provide an understandable management description (e.g., the developers describe what they do), and some more. The method provides a unified, knowledge-based description strategy applicable to all software management strategies. It provides a method to create a minimal but complete description. In this paper, we apply {\ss}MACH to the microservice concept to explain both and to test the applicability and the advantages of {\ss}MACH.