Collaborative modelling domain boundaries

As a business, we want to make sure our software can handle changes when the business changes. We want to define boundaries that support the flow of the business value. Within Domain-Driven Design we have the perspective of strategic design. A perspective where we can split a large-system into multiple sub-domains, each having its purpose and responsibilities. Within these sub-domains, teams can work in autonomous, clean bounded contexts. One of the most effective ways to define these boundaries is by collaborative modelling with all the stakeholders involved in these domains. But that poses real challenges; What exactly is the definition of a (sub)domain? What is problem space? How can we form a common language of these boundaries? How does a customer journey fit in? And how do you decide and come to a single model in a large group, where everyone shares that same model on a high level?

Join us in this talk where we will show and tell war stories about our experience of having done collaborative modelling in several companies. We will tell our successes, but more importantly our failures and what we learned from them. What are the key heuristics we think that makes a collaborative modelling session with 30+ people, without any DDD knowledge, succeed? What are the skills we need to learn to facilitate it, and how can we make a company not dependent on us as consultants to continue their journey? You will leave with the knowledge of how to start your own collaborative modelling of your domain boundaries. We tell you our definition of (sub)domains, problems and solution space, and how we explained it to the companies we consulted. Providing you with new perspectives on how to embed this as a ritual in your company.

Transcript

1. Collaborative modelling of Domain Boundaries Sharing learnings and failures • Plaats • Datum Photo by Parabol on Unsplash
2. Businesses are on a quest Innovation and agility are key for survival Photo by Murilo Viviani on Unsplash
3. Technological innovation as a driver for architectural agility Photo by William Felker on Unsplash
4. Organisations need to define boundaries Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
5. Who are we? Enthusiast of Domain-Driven Design, leadership development and student of management sciences. @pderaaij paulderaaij.nl Paul de Raaij Deep Democratic Domain-Driven Designer and a socio-technical systems designer. Facilitator of visual and collaborative modelling @kenny_baas baasie.com Kenny Baas-Schwegler
6. Sharing learnings and failures of helping companies to define boundaries Photo by Road Trip with Raj on Unsplash
7. The issue of language starts of the bat
8. Boundary: A designed edge that separates autonomy and expectations Photo by Q.U.I on Unsplash
9. Favour completeness over accuracy at the start Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash
10. Facilitate thinking fast & thinking slow. Use homework & thinking time Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
11. Granularity is a negotiation between the group, not a statement of the facilitator Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash
12. Organisational structure as input for your workshop design
13. EventStorming as a cultural assessment Photo by Philipp Potocnik on Unsplash
14. Check-in exercises to make sense of the group and organisation Credits: Rebecca Wirfs-Brock & Ken Power
15. Continuous sense-making to learn about perspectives and viewpoints
16. Organization consisting out of multiple business lines Photo by Kazuo ota on Unsplash
17. Embracing the business lines for an initial context map Context Mapping on a business grid - Alberto Brandolini
18. Reference architectures to kickstart discussions Photo by Kazuo ota on Unsplash
19. We ask people to collaborate differently and shift to new paradigms Photo by Jen Theodore on Unsplash
20. Concept of evolution is quickly forgotten Photo by Eugene Zhyvchik on Unsplash
21. Thinking in terms of behaviour and communication over data and applications Photo by Sebastian Herrmann on Unsplash
22. Design and choose for a single problem Photo by Etienne Girardet on Unsplash
23. When things go wrong Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash
24. Active ownership from an entity within the organisation Photo by jean wimmerlin on Unsplash
25. Breaking resistance by learning a small group, who leads the larger group Photo by Seema Miah on Unsplash
26. What we hope that sticks • Discovering and designing boundaries to reach a software architecture that allows for agility • As a facilitator to guide participants in accepting new perspectives and paradigms • Ideas to kickstart your modelling sessions • Use of sense-making to understand culture and help discussions move along
27. Thank you! Place here extra information. Feedback form ^