  [Context] Microservices enable the decomposition of applications into small
and independent services connected together. The independence between services
could positively affect the development velocity of a project, which is
considered an important metric measuring the time taken to implement features
and fix bugs. However, no studies have investigated the connection between
microservices and development velocity. [Objective and Method] The goal of this
study plan is to investigate the effect microservices have on development
velocity. The study compares GitHub projects adopting microservices from the
beginning and similar projects using monolithic architectures. We designed this
study using a cohort study method, to enable obtaining a high level of
evidence. [Results] The result of this work enables the confirmation of the
effective improvement of the development velocity of microservices. Moreover,
this study will contribute to the body of knowledge of empirical methods being
among the first works adopting the cohort study methodology.
