The invisible law behind failing transformations
Where good ideas quietly fail
It often starts the same way: A strong idea. A motivated team. A clear plan.
You can feel the spirit of optimism. Everyone knows why it's important. Everyone is stepping on the gas, budgets are being invested, new tools are being migrated, processes are being built, kick-off meetings are being held...
And then - weeks or months later - the result is on the table. It's not bad. But it's also not what would have been possible. What inspired you, what you believed in. Sometimes the project even gets stuck in the development stage.
It feels like a puzzle that has been put together from pieces of different games: Each element valuable in its own right, but the whole not coherent. The budget has been spent - and now. Frustration!
Such situations don't arise because people don't feel like it. Not because the idea was wrong. And often not because the budget wasn't enough. They arise because invisible structures are stronger than any good intention.
Conway's Law - the old observation with new relevance
The computer scientist Melvin Conway formulated a simple but far-reaching thesis back in 1968:
„Organisations design systems that reflect their own communication structure.“
Conway was originally talking about software architectures. He observed: "If a company has four teams working on a compiler, then the architecture of this compiler will have four modules - exactly as many as there are teams involved. The technical structure follows the social structure.
But the statement is far bigger than IT and is still relevant:
- Products are created the way the departments talk to each other. If development, design and sales have hardly any interfaces, you can feel this in the end product - it appears fragmented, unbalanced and difficult to connect.
- Processes reflect who has influence in the organisation. If decisions are only made via hierarchies, you can see it in processes that are slow, bureaucratic and full of loops.
- Campaigns immediately show how integrated communication works. When marketing, sales and service work side by side, the result is not a consistent image on the market, but three parallel messages.
- Strategies carry the voices of those who have developed them - and leave gaps where other perspectives are missing.
Short:
- When we work in silos, the result is something that looks like a silo.
- If we leave unspoken power structures in place, they inscribe themselves into every system, whether we like it or not.
- But if we communicate openly, networked and fluently, solutions are created that are connectable and sustainable.
That is why Conway's Law is now more than just a historical observation from IT. It is a mirror: we see the pattern of our organisation in our results.
Why do patterns have such a strong effect?
From a systemic perspective, Conway's Law is no coincidence, but an expression of a deeper principle: structure, behaviour and results are inextricably linked. The formal processes and organisational charts of an organisation shape how people communicate with each other. At the same time Informal structures - networks, personal agreements, Established relationships of trust - often more powerful than any process manual. These communication patterns give rise to the behaviour that shapes and supports an organisation, and it is precisely this behaviour that determines what information is available at the crucial moment, how quickly decisions are made and whether solutions are compatible.
Every result that an organisation produces - whether strategy, product or process - has an impact on it. It changes roles, responsibilities and relationships. And this is not linear and plannable, but rather networked on different levels, systemically speaking. You could say that systems are a mirror of their patterns, and these patterns hold results together or cause them to fall apart.
Because: People need patterns. They make life easier and provide security. In groups, they are often passed on unconsciously - through language, decision-making processes or small rituals that create a sense of belonging. This creates stability, but this stability comes at a price.
When markets change or new technologies emerge, organisations like to hold on to the familiar. „We've always done it this way“ is rarely stubbornness, but rather a psychological reflex, often „only“ subconsciously: patterns provide stability, even if they have long since become impractical.
Systemically speaking, this is not wrong - every pattern once had its purpose. But what used to provide orientation can now become a brake pad. Only prediction errors in the brain allow us to learn.
This is exactly where Conway's Law comes into play: results do not happen by chance, they reflect the patterns that organisations hold on to. If you want transformation, you therefore have to track down these patterns, understand them and change them together - in such a way that new things become possible without depriving people of the security they need.
The blind spot in many transformations
In many transformation projects, the focus is on what is visible and tangible: new tools, new processes, new plans. However, this is exactly where organisations often overlook the decisive factor. This is because every new system follows existing communication patterns - and reinforces them. If these patterns do not fit, the old problems simply arise in a new form: only more complex, more expensive and often even more difficult to solve.
That is why we are convinced that real transformation does not start with products or technologies. It begins where the invisible patterns are at work - in the relationships, the communication channels and the unspoken routines within an organisation.
Examples: When old patterns shape the result
You see it in very different situations. A strategy is developed in the management circle, but the teams that are to implement it later are not involved. The result: nice words on paper, but little acceptance in practice. Or a marketing campaign in which creation, product management and sales work side by side. The result is not a uniform message, but three versions of the same story - and each department fights for its own concept. The phenomenon is also evident in service: support, logistics and IT each use their own systems, and every customer enquiry becomes a time-consuming relay race.
As different as these examples sound, the pattern behind them is always the same. The problem lies not only in the process or the technology. It lies in the way the organisation thinks, communicates and makes decisions.
How to work with patterns - and where we provide support
Conway's Law is not an incontrovertible law of nature, but an observation. It shows us that systems reflect the communication structures from which they have emerged. However, results do not only arise from communication: culture, resources, competences and the external context also play a role. If you take the thesis too literally, you run the risk of using it as an excuse: „Our results are like this because we are organised like this.“
It is therefore crucial to visualise patterns and actively shape them.
Organisations make progress when they ask themselves questions such as:
- How does information actually flow - not just in the organisation chart?
- Do these paths match the goals we want to achieve?
- What new patterns do we need to practise in order for change to succeed?
This is precisely where the real work begins - or rather: it runs parallel to everything visible. Not just in the tool or the process, but in the communication and relationship patterns that provide stability and at the same time can prevent new things from being created.
This is where we can come on board as nieke#licht. We help organisations to make these patterns visible, create safe spaces for reflection and accompany the step from insight to intervention. Sometimes this means rethinking decision-making processes. Sometimes it involves cross-functional collaboration or cultural work that replaces old rituals. But it is always a question of organising structures and patterns in such a way that new things have a chance at all.
Conway's Law is therefore not fate for us, but a mirror. Anyone who looks into it recognises that we don't get what we want - we get what our patterns allow. Transformation therefore also means consciously influencing these patterns in a joint endeavour. It means questioning why these patterns are the way they are, what benefits they bring and what price they come at.
FAQ: Frequently asked questions about „Conway's Law and patterns in organisations during transformation“
What is Conway's Law actually?
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Conway's Law says: systems reflect the communication structures of their organisation. What we develop - whether strategy, process or product - therefore always bears the traces of our internal patterns.
Does Conway's Law apply always and everywhere?
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No. It is not a law of nature, but an observation. Communication strongly influences results, but culture, resources, competences and the context also play a decisive role.
Why do organisations stick to patterns?
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Because patterns provide security. They are familiar and make complexity manageable. That is human - and explains why change often comes to a standstill, even when everyone is convinced of the new.
How can patterns be changed?
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By making them visible and consciously working on them. This happens through new communication channels, different decision-making processes, cross-functional collaboration or even by breaking old rituals. What is important is that patterns cannot simply be abolished; they must be replaced step by step with new ones.
Does that mean tools are useless?
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Yes, tools are important. But if they are applied to old patterns, they only reinforce existing problems. Only when structures and communication are adapted will new systems be effective.
What does this mean for transformation?
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Transformation rarely fails due to a lack of technology or ideas - but because organisations unconsciously carry their old patterns with them. If you want change, you therefore need to look not only at processes and tools, but above all at the invisible structures that hold everything together.
And how does nieke#licht help?
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We help organisations to make their patterns visible and steer them in new directions. This means - We moderate dialogues in which unspoken routines and communication channels come to light. - We create safe spaces in which teams can experiment and try out new patterns. - We combine a systemic perspective with concrete tools: from cultural work and values to agile methods and content and technology issues. The result is not an isolated project, but a process that brings together culture, structure and technology - so that transformation does not fail due to old patterns, but is truly sustainable.
