Cognitive Scaffold

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MENTAL MODEL · M4888

Conway's Law

Conway's Law
SystemsHigh supportSystems Theory
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Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30

CORE DEFINITION

"Organizations which design systems are constrained to produce designs which are copies of the communication structures of these organizations." System architecture reflects organizational structure.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

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Reduce cognitive load

Organization determines architecture. If you want to change the system architecture, you must first change the organizational structure. Microservices architecture requires cross-functional teams, while monolithic architecture suits functional organizations.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

Conway's law states that the communication structure of system design replicates the organization's communication structure: how teams are divided determines how the resulting systems are coupled. It is a mirror law coupling organization and architecture.

MINIMUM ACTION

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Source support: Explicit

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    en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conway%27s_lawZH · Explicit
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