>[!abstract] >Conway's Law, formulated by computer programmer Melvin Conway, states that any system's design will reflect the communication structures of the organization that built it. In practice, this means that software architectures, product features, or workflows tend to mirror the silos, hierarchies, and interaction patterns of the teams involved. The law suggests that organizational boundaries and coordination constraints shape technical outcomes as much as engineering choices do, often leading to fragmented or duplicated designs. It is frequently invoked in systems design and management to argue that changing organizational structures is a prerequisite for achieving desired system architectures. >[!related] >- **North** (upstream): [[Systems theory]] >- **West** (similar): [[Gall's Law]] >- **East** (different): [[Clean-slate architecture]] >- **South** (downstream): [[Inverse Conway maneuver]]