Fattah-Weil, Jasmin | Zick, Lennart

Making Business Process Alignment measurable: A metrics-based evaluation lens for microservices decomposition

Abstract

Microservices architectures are widely adopted to modernize enterprise systems, yet their evaluation remains predominantly focused on structural and performance-oriented metrics. Although service decomposition approaches frequently reference business processes as design inputs, the extent to which service boundaries align with business processes and capabilities is rarely assessed explicitly. This study conceptualizes Business Process Alignment (BPA) as a distinct and measurable architectural evaluation dimension. Drawing on a systematic literature review and following a Design Science Research approach, we develop a criteria-driven, metrics-based evaluation lens that complements established static and dynamic metrics with process- and capability-oriented indicators. The approach is demonstrated through a controlled comparison of two functionally equivalent prototypes implemented as Service-Oriented and Microservices Architectures. The results show that while classical metrics converge under functional equivalence, BPA-oriented metrics reveal meaningful differences in alignment outcomes, enabling more transparent and context-sensitive architectural evaluation.