Exploring the Domain Collaboratively
To align software design with the domain, a shared understanding of the domain must be established. In doing so, business and technical experts each learn from the others, jointly build up their knowledge of the domain, and formulate it in a shared language, the ubiquitous language.
Event Storming and Domain Storytelling at a Glance
What?
We run Event Storming and Domain Storytelling workshops for you, meaning we take care of preparation, facilitation, and support you with targeted questions to gain the important insights.
When?
Collaborative methods for exploring the domain are useful, among other things, when you want to turn new business fields into software or you notice that conflicting domain understanding is widespread in your organization. Also when you want to (re)structure your software or resolve dependencies, the results of these methods often serve as an entry point.
Why?
Get business and technical experts on the same wavelength to reduce misunderstandings and comprehension problems. Produce material that serves as a basis for further architecture work. Discover unknown quirks and pitfalls of your domain and mitigate potential problems.
Approach
A typical Event Storming or Domain Storytelling workshop proceeds as follows:
00
Initial Clarification
Together we define a goal for the workshop and select the appropriate method. We clarify which people and stakeholders should be involved and set a date for the full-day workshop.
01
Introduction and Welcome
We present the goal, method and process of the workshop. In addition to a short introduction to the business domain, all participants introduce themselves.
02
Discovery Phase
In an open mode, similar to brainstorming, we try to gather as much knowledge about the domain as possible. Along the way, misunderstandings get resolved and a shared language emerges.
03
Focusing Phase
Based on the concrete goal, we now focus on working out concrete results. This is often the design of a business-oriented structuring of the software in the form of bounded contexts and their dependencies. Glossaries, a collection of business use cases, or the identification of central processes and entities and their documentation are also conceivable.
04
Clarifying Next Steps
We evaluate in which areas the results still have room to grow, or where concrete issues have come up. We also formulate ways to put the findings to good use. We give pointers on possible next steps and formulate these explicitly together with you.
05
Implementation
Optionally, we’re happy to support you in implementing the steps. Often, first drafts for the software structure need to be validated and measured against further goals, or the concrete design of dependencies, including at the organizational level, raises further questions.