Benefits and Challenges of Microfrontends in Large-Scale Frontend Systems: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

This thesis examines both advantages and disadvantages associated with adopting microfrontends in large frontend system environments. Mainly, this thesis will examine how microfrontends have been proposed to help alleviate problems like team autonomy, scalability, independent deployment, and flexibility for choosing various technology options, while at the same time investigating the possible technical and organizational problems that may occur during the adoption of microfrontends. A systematic literature review was carried out and reported using the PRISMA 2020 methodology. The research synthesizes evidence collected from peer-reviewed articles as well as selected gray literature to develop commonality among real-world case studies, mapping studies, and comparative analyses. Evidence from this study suggests that microfrontends may assist developers with parallel work and may lead to increased clarity of ownership within a larger organization, but they also create new complexities, including integration complexities, performance overhead, shared dependencies, testing, governance and maintaining consistent user experiences. In addition, the study shows that there is a greater justification for adopting microfrontends in large frontend system environments that include multiple independently organized teams and are difficult to manage within a single codebase. Ultimately, this thesis offers an evidence-based evaluation of when micro-frontends offer a better option than monolithic or modular monoliths.