# Decision Models for Selecting Patterns and Strategies in Microservices Systems and their Evaluation by Practitioners

**Authors:** Muhammad Waseem, Peng Liang, Aakash Ahmad, Mojtaba Shahin, Arif Ali Khan, Gastón Márquez  
**arXiv:** [2201.05825](https://arxiv.org/abs/2201.05825)  
**Date:** 2022-01-15  
**Summary page:** https://www.summarizepaper.com/en/arxiv-id/2201.05825v1/

## Key points

- Extensive search process identified 211 patterns and strategies from scientific sources and 174 from grey literature in four key MSA design areas
- Common naming conventions established to streamline identification process, resulting in final selection of 7 distinct patterns and strategies for application decomposition
- Decision models developed based on these patterns and strategies to aid practitioners in making informed choices aligned with quality attributes crucial for microservices systems
- Empirical evaluations conducted with 24 microservices practitioners to assess effectiveness of decision models
- Paper structured into sections detailing research methodology, specifics of decision models, evaluation outcomes, threats to validity considerations, related work analysis, and concluding remarks with implications for future research directions

## Summary

This study addresses challenges in selecting and implementing Microservices Architecture (MSA) patterns and strategies. Through an extensive search process of 38 scientific studies and 22 grey literature sources, a total of 211 patterns and strategies from scientific sources and 174 from grey literature were identified in four key MSA design areas. Common naming conventions were established to streamline the identification process, resulting in the final selection of 7 distinct patterns and strategies for application decomposition. Decision models were then developed based on these patterns and strategies to aid practitioners in making informed choices aligned with quality attributes crucial for microservices systems. Empirical evaluations with 24 microservices practitioners were conducted to assess the effectiveness of the decision models. The paper is structured into sections detailing research methodology, specifics of the decision models, evaluation outcomes, threats to validity considerations, related work analysis, and concluding remarks with implications for future research directions. This study provides valuable insights into enhancing decision-making processes related to microservices architecture through comprehensive pattern-based approaches supported by practitioner feedback.