Artifact appendix

This site is the companion appendix to the paper A Unified Feature Model for Microservice Identification and Refactoring. It documents and links every artifact behind the results: the unified feature model, the per-tool mappings used in the evaluation, the exported figures, the meta-review data, and the LLM-based mapping tooling.

Abstract

Several approaches have been proposed for the automatic identification of microservices within monolithic systems. These methodologies differ in their data collection and analysis techniques, the decomposition algorithms applied, and the mechanisms used to visualize and refine candidate microservices. Despite this diversity, systematic experimentation and comparison across approaches remain limited by the absence of a common conceptual framework. Furthermore, current research indicates that no single optimal method exists; rather, integrating multiple approaches is necessary to fully explore the trade-offs inherent in any design solution.

To address this gap, this paper proposes a feature model for variant-rich microservice identification tools, grounded in an extensive analysis of the state of the art. We evaluate this feature model through a systematic mapping of representative literature and by analyzing its instantiation within the architecture of an existing microservice identification tool. Our findings are two-fold. First, the proposed feature model successfully captures the primary variation points of existing methodologies, providing a unifying foundation for analyzing, comparing, and designing microservice identification tools. Second, we observe that current tools address only a small set of these variations, ultimately lacking the capability to provide a common framework for comparing and integrating different approaches.

What’s here

• Feature model

  The proposed model: 99 features and 21 cross-tree constraints, rendered in full, plus every colour profile from the evaluation.

  Downloads: FeatureIDE XML, rendered PNG, profiles

• Initial model

  The model before generalisation, derived from a single tool. Published so the two can be compared — the difference is what the bottom-up phase added.

  Downloads: FeatureIDE XML, rendered PNG

• Meta-review

  The 11 secondary studies reviewed during the bottom-up modelling phase, with the concepts each one reports per feature-model dimension.

  Downloads: CSV, PDF

• Skills

  The six Claude Code skills that produced the evaluation — extracting tools from papers, mapping each one onto the model, reconciling repeated runs, and merging the results.

  Downloads: each SKILL.md

• Evaluation

  Seven tools, grouped by the paper they came from, each with its automated and revised mappings. Also the merged mappings showing what the tools cover together.

  Downloads: analyses, colour profiles

Licences

• Code — the mapping tooling is licensed under the MIT License.
• Research artifacts — the feature model, tool mappings, images, generated analyses, and meta-review data are licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Citation

If you use these artifacts, please cite the paper. See CITATION.cff or use the “Cite this repository” button on GitHub.