Why do some software systems feel siloed and clunky?
Conway’s Law offers a surprising explanation: the design of a system often mimics the communication structure of the organization that built it. Siloed teams can lead to fragmented systems.
To address this challenge, many organizations are turning to internal developer platforms… Gartner predicts that by 2026, 80% of large software engineering organizations will leverage internal developer platforms.
In my opinion, just as high-quality data fuels high-quality GenAI applications, the success of a data platform hinges on strong collaboration between software developers and operators?
Another implication of Conway’s Law is that not all communication is helpful, and too much back-and-forth can hinder productivity.
I believe, besides inherent benefits such as smarter risk management and faster product development, a well-architected data(-mesh) platform following the data mesh communication model, can empower your organization to prioritize communication & collaboration!
As illustrated in the image,
Core Teams: The self-service data platform team and domain teams collaborate frequently for rapid development and efficient value creation.
Enabler Teams: Governance, assets, and cloud foundation teams provide essential support to the platform while minimizing interaction with domain teams. This avoids overwhelming them with unnecessary communication.
Executive Leadership: Leadership maintains a high-level view through infrequent updates from core and enabler teams, ensuring strategic alignment without micromanagement.
Domain teams: Think of lines-of-business teams or team members with highly specialized skills.
In essence, I believe, by implementing a data platform that is simple, scalable, and open- organizations can unify their data and processes, hence, unlock better experiences for end-users, software developers, and operators.
Sources:
Conway’s Law: https://lnkd.in/dBf7TwwD
Gartner report: https://lnkd.in/dZgNmdyM
Data Mesh framework: https://lnkd.in/dm4hnMXy
Information on specific team roles and responsibilities: https://lnkd.in/d6ciAAGj