A Microservices Quality Model Based on Microservices Anti-patterns

Microservices architecture is becoming popular as many software organizations have the need to transform large complex systems into small-sized software units whose functions are separated by business capabilities. Microservices architecture is preferable since it promotes independence of software modification, maintenance, and deployment. However, anti-patterns or poor development patterns of microservices can decrease the software quality. Nonetheless, quality measurement of microservices design based on anti-patterns has not been found in existing research. Using the QMOOD method for quality model design, this paper proposes a microservices quality model based on 11 microservices antipatterns and ISO/IEC 25010 as a standard reference for quality attributes. Also, a microservices quality measurement tool called MSA Nose+ is developed to measure the quality of microservices applications. In an experiment to validate the proposed model, the result shows that the quality values obtained from the proposed model improve consistently with the refactorings that are applied to a microservice-based system. Thus, development teams can use the proposed model and quality measurements as part of the decision making on quality improvement and maintenance of microservices applications.