An Experience Report from the Migration of Legacy Software Systems to Microservice Based Architecture

Context: The literature provides evidence of challenges and difficulties related to the migration of legacy software systems to a microservice based architecture. The idea of microservices stipulates that the software be organized as a suite of small, modular, and independently deployed services, in which each service runs on its own process and communicates through well-defined, lightweight mechanisms to serve a business goal. However, the literature lacks step-by-step guidelines telling practitioners how to accomplish the migration from an existing, monolithic structure to a microservice based architecture. Goal: Discuss lessons learned from the migration of legacy software systems to microservices-based architecture. Method: We conducted two studies (a pilot and a case study) aiming at characterizing the relevants steps of such guidelines. Results: We report the steps and challenges observed during the migration reported in this study. Conclusion: We identify at least three main phases that drive the migration process.