Biology of Business

Systems

Modularity

By Alex Denne

The degree to which a system's components can be separated and recombined—high internal cohesion within modules and weak connections between them.

Used in the Books

This term appears in 12 chapters:

Foundations Metabolism and Burn Rate

"...illsets - 4 = 20-40% specialists, most can operate in 2-3 domains - 5 = <20% specialists, team can reorganize across functions in <30 days Product modularity: - 1 = Monolithic, cannot disable any feature without breaking product - 2 = 2-3 separable modules, tightly coupled - 3 = 4-6 modules, can disable ..."

Adaptation and Evolution Adaptive Radiation

"...tion Triangle: market opportunity (underserved customer needs, emerging technologies, regulatory changes creating new niches), organizational modularity (ability to recombine capabilities into new offerings without rebuilding from scratch), and structural separation** (divisions or subsidiaries th..."

Adaptation and Evolution Convergent Evolution

"...st efficient solution for high-resolution imaging in most environments. Developmental constraints can either promote or prevent convergence: - Modularity promotes convergence: If traits develop independently (modular development, Chapter 4), similar traits can evolve from different genetic starting p..."

Adaptation and Evolution Niche Construction

"...o documenting Amazon's 2002 API mandate requiring all teams to expose functionality through service interfaces. Explains how this mandate created the modularity that enabled AWS's emergence as a platform ecosystem. [OPEN ACCESS - archived online] Inditex. Annual Report 2023. Arteixo, Spain: Inditex SA,..."

Adaptation and Evolution Extinction Events

"...tion's diversification across beer/wine allowed it to shed wine when that segment faced headwinds, while beer sustained growth. 2. Optionality and modularity: Design business models with options to pivot. Modular capabilities (platforms, reusable assets, transferable skills) enable redeployment when envi..."

And 7 more chapters...

Biological Context

Proteins have modular domains that can be mixed and matched. Gene regulatory networks are modular, allowing evolution to modify one function without disrupting others. Modular organization enables evolvability by reducing the pleiotropy of mutations.

Business Application

Modular organizations can reconfigure business units without disrupting others. High modularity enables adaptation; low modularity creates fragility.

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