Modularity of a system affects resilience

A system with a monolithic design is composed of component pieces that are tightly integrated together into a single structure. Such highly connected systems (that is, they have many links between all components) means ”shocks tend to travel rapidly through the whole system.”^[1]

Modularity “relates to the manner in which the components that make up a system are linked.”^[2] When internal links are strong but connections are loose, the system is more resilient.

Systems with subgroups of components that are strongly linked internally, but only loosely connected to each other, have a modular structure. A degree of modularity in the system allows individual modules to keep functioning when loosely linked modules fail, and the system as a whole has a chance to self-organize and therefore a greater capacity to absorb shocks.^[3]

#systems #resilience #modularity