MONOLITHIC IS NOT A BAD WORD, BUT WILD DECOMPOSITION OFTEN IS

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of The Agile Software Engineering Deep Dive, Alessandro Guida explores why the word monolithic has acquired such a bad reputation, and why breaking systems into ever smaller services is not always the architectural improvement we expect.The episode looks at the real problems that microservices were designed to solve, including independent deployment, team autonomy, fault isolation, and scaling, while also examining the complexity that comes with distributed systems.Using examples from Uber, Shopify, Prime Video, and Netflix, the discussion shows how different companies have dealt with the trade-offs between compact architectures and large-scale decomposition.The episode also introduces the modular monolith as a serious architectural option and explains why a single deployable unit can still have strong boundaries, clear ownership, and good internal structure.The broader message is that architecture should follow the forces acting on the system rather than the fashion of the moment.Sometimes decomposition creates valuable independence. Sometimes it simply moves coupling onto the network.The real skill is knowing the difference.Support the showThis Podcast is an audio version of the written Agile Software Engineering newsletter.  If you want to go deeper, don't forget to subscribe the newsletter too.