Conway's Law Revisited: Successfully Aligning Enterprise Architecture InformIT,
May 1, 2002 by David Dikel and David KaneAbstract: In what has come to be known as Conway’s Law, Melvin Conway observed that the structure of
a system reflects the organization that designed the system. What are the implications of this law
for enterprise architecture? Those faced with the task of building enterprise architectures are
likely to find information systems whose fuzzy boundaries and complex interconnections are matched
by the organizations from which they came. Organizations find themselves very much aware of demands
to align information technology investments and business objectives. So, what do you do when you
find yourself in an architecture leadership role? An understanding of Conway’s Law can help make
these efforts to align enterprise architecture more successful. | |