A taxonomy of microservice integration techniques
Schwarz GD, Bauer A, Riehle D, Harutyunyan N (2025)
Publication Type: Journal article, Original article
Publication year: 2025
Journal
URI: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S095058492500062X
DOI: 10.1016/j.infsof.2025.107723
Open Access Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S095058492500062X
Abstract
Context:
Microservices have become an important architectural style for building robust and scalable software systems. A system’s functionality is split into independent units, the microservices, that communicate over a network and can be deployed independently. The shift of complexity into the integration layer necessitates enhanced collaboration among stakeholders, stressing the importance of effective communication.
Objective:
We aim to streamline communication between stakeholders in microservice-based projects by constructing a framework for enhanced clarity, a taxonomy, by answering our research question: “How can microservice integration techniques be classified?”
Method:
We conducted a thematic analysis of literature and six expert interviews to identify microservice integration techniques and construct a taxonomy.
Results:
The results of this study are (i) a taxonomy for microservice integration techniques consisting of five main and ten refined categories, (ii) the classification of 121 found integration techniques, (iii) an illustration of the taxonomy usage based on three selected techniques to demonstrate the procedure in case of classification ambiguity, (iv) a comparison of data gathered from literature with the interviews, and (v) comprehensive supplementary materials.
Conclusion:
The taxonomy offers a structured framework to classify microservice integration techniques and enhances the understanding of the diverse landscape of microservice integration techniques, including organizational ones that are often overlooked. Practitioners can discover integration techniques through the taxonomy and apply them with guidance provided in the supplementary materials.
Authors with CRIS profile
Georg-Daniel Schwarz
Professur für Open Source Software
Dirk Riehle
Professur für Open Source Software
Nikolay Harutyunyan
Professur für Open Source Software
Related research project(s)
Industrielle Erfolgsmethoden zur Integration von Microservices
April 15, 2021 - April 14, 2024
Software Campus 2.0
Nov. 1, 2017 - Oct. 31, 2023
Involved external institutions
Sweden (SE)How to cite
APA:
Schwarz, G.-D., Bauer, A., Riehle, D., & Harutyunyan, N. (2025). A taxonomy of microservice integration techniques. Information and Software Technology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infsof.2025.107723
MLA:
Schwarz, Georg-Daniel, et al. "A taxonomy of microservice integration techniques." Information and Software Technology (2025).
BibTeX: Download