Episode 422: Michael Geers on Micro Frontends

Cross-functional Teams

Cross-functional teams in microfrontend architectures are structured to handle both frontend and backend responsibilities, enhancing customer focus and reducing communication needs. Michael Geers explains that each team owns its microfrontend and additional services, like authentication, to maintain independence and coherence 1. This approach contrasts with having a dedicated infrastructure team, as it aligns teams more closely with customer needs and allows for more agile development.

In many projects, we are doing the creating direct value for the customer. Reason is one of the main arguments.

--- Michael Geers

Geers advises against starting with microfrontends for startups due to the complexity of changing team boundaries, recommending a monolithic approach initially with modularization for future adaptability 2.

   

Coordination & Communication

Effective coordination and communication are crucial in microfrontend environments. Michael Geers highlights the importance of a centralized design system to ensure a consistent user experience across different applications 3. Frontend architects and guilds facilitate shared best practices and integration solutions among teams, reducing the need for strong tech leads.

The main focus of this micro frontend architecture is having teams being able to run on their own, so having their own systems, making their own technology decisions and deploying the application.

--- Michael Geers

Each team manages its CI/CD pipeline independently, which simplifies deployment and production support but requires careful boundary definition to avoid technical complexity 4.