We Couldn’t Handle Scale Until We Stopped Pretending Our Services Were Independent
Article summary
The first time it broke, we blamed the network. The second time, we blamed an API contract. By the third time, we realized the issue wasn’t one thing breaking-it was the lie we told ourselves: that our services were truly independent. The fallacy of microservice independence It felt clean on paper. Each team had its own service, its own repo, its own deployments. But under the surface, these “independent” services depended on each other in subtle, brittle ways. A customer account service relied on payment state it didn’t own. Our analytics pipeline depended on schemas that changed weekly. Front-end teams stitched together data from five sources, all slightly inconsistent. These weren’t integrations. They were entanglements masquerading as autonomy. Drift disguised as scale We thought we were scaling. More services, more teams, more throughput.
Read Full Article on MediumPractical takeaway
The main idea behind We Couldn’t Handle Scale Until We Stopped Pretending Our Services Were Independent is to help teams move from broad theory to clear, repeatable decision making. When teams apply this thinking, they reduce ambiguity and focus on improvements that deliver measurable momentum.
Example scenario
Imagine a team facing competing priorities. By applying the ideas in We Couldn’t Handle Scale Until We Stopped Pretending Our Services Were Independent, they can map dependencies, identify risks and choose the next move that produces progress without destabilizing their system.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Trying to redesign everything instead of taking small steps.
- Ignoring real constraints like incentives, ownership or legacy systems.
- Creating documents that do not lead to any change in code or decisions.
How to apply this in real work
Start by identifying where We Couldn’t Handle Scale Until We Stopped Pretending Our Services Were Independent already shows up in your architecture or delivery flow. Then pick one area where clarity would reduce friction. Apply the idea, measure its effect and share the learning.
Signs you are doing it correctly
- Teams make decisions faster and with fewer disagreements.
- Architectural conversations become clearer and less abstract.
- Changes land safely with fewer surprises or rework cycles.