Microservice Antipatterns: Causes, Detection, and Refactoring Challenges

Abstract

Microservice antipatterns negatively impact quality, necessitating a thorough understanding of their causes, effects, and solutions. This study provides a comprehensive review of antipatterns after analyzing 50 studies through a multivocal literature review. Key findings show that unprepared adoption and team culture are major causes, affecting maintainability, performance, and testing. Detection techniques are categorized into five groups, with most tools using search-based approaches. Four refactoring strategies were identified, along with their limitations. The study also highlights research gaps and challenges, guiding future work in improving detection and refactoring methods to mitigate antipattern effects.