The Org Chart Ships

In 1967, computer scientist Melvin Conway made an observation.

Organizations design systems that mirror their communication structures.

Not metaphorically. Literally.

Decades later, tech companies proved him right.

Microsoft's divisions operated as separate silos with internal competition. The result: products that don't integrate. Teams that don't coordinate. A user experience that reflects the org chart.

Apple's functional structure flows from centralized leadership. The result: unified products. Seamless integration. Hardware and software that feel like one thing.

They didn't choose these outcomes. Their structures produced them.

MIT and Harvard Business School research confirmed the "mirroring hypothesis." Organizational design decisions directly shape the technical architecture of what gets built.

Satya Nadella acknowledged this when he restructured Microsoft.

You can't choose your product architecture separately from your organizational architecture.

They're the same thing.

This note explores Structural Constraint, one of four dynamics from The Momentum Engine. You ship your org chart. Plan accordingly.