For the first time, we present a data affinity-driven method for decomposing monolith applications into a collection of microservices. The decomposition strategy defined by our process comprises mapping data objects exposed by the monolith's API endpoints to an enterprise business capability framework and then clustering the business capabilities through data object cohesion.

Through this, we define an optimized set of service components that embody business capabilities, but that simultaneously minimizes network latency upon implementation. Using the output from the clustering method, we've developed a strategy that determines where to initiate the decomposition process and how to move from current to target state progressively.