Does culture impact software design? @ DDD Europe 2022

DDD is about understanding and communicating complexity. We have long recognized that the most effective way to communicate complexity is via human language. But language poses a challenge when working in a team comprised of members of different (sub)cultures and nationalities, each with a native language that might not be the same as the language we are communicating in. Each of these cultures has a different perception about how to communicate effectively. By way of example, in some cultures, it is considered appropriate and respectable to use the tentative voice “perhaps we should consider trying X”. Whereas in other cultures it is the assertive voice that is valued “This is how we should do it”.

Assuming that everybody in the room wants to communicate effectively, what aspects can we define that impact our design? What organizational culture fits better with what type of architecture (microservices, monolith)? And what cultural needs must these architectures and boundaries address to succeed? Join us in this hands-on where we together explore these challenges!

Transcript

1. Workshop Agenda
   What is culture?
   Organizational cultures
   How culture impacts design
   Meet your facilitators
   Conversational constraints theory
   

   View Slide

2. Impromptu networking
   In two rounds 4 min each you will interview each other on the
   following questions:
   What is your definition of culture
   Tell something that is known about your culture
   What cultures are you a member of?
   Each round you will do this with someone else.
   1.
   2.
   3.
   What is your definition of culture
   Tell something that is known about your culture
   What cultures are you a member of?
   it happens in the
   implicit
   interaction
   Common set of
   believe and
   rituals and values
   collective
   unconsciousness
   something to do
   with behaviour
   Communication,
   collaboration
   toolbox
   default you can
   fall back on
   measure in the
   level of
   emotional safety
   Invisible to
   people
   expectation
   Going dutch
   (split the bill)
   jewish
   geography
   drinks witht
   he collegues
   Domain driven
   design culture
   what do
   you mean?
   collaboration,
   create
   community
   

   View Slide

3. Many definitions simply settle for the notion that culture
   is a set of shared meanings that make it possible for
   members of a group to interpret and act upon their
   environment.
   - Edgar Schein
   So a great heuristic to observe culture is when someone says:
   "This is how we do it here"
   
   sloanreview.mit.…
   Coming to a New
   Awareness of
   Organizational Culture
   1. See J. Martin and C. Siehl,
   "Organizational Culture and
   Counterculture: An Uneasy Symbiosis,"
   Organizational Dynamics, Autumn 1983,
   pp. 52-64. 2. See C. Argyris, "The
   Executive Mind and Double-Loop
   Learning," Organizational Dynamics,
   Autumn 1982, pp.…
   

   View Slide

4. Group dialogue
   Provide examples of how you make sure communication during
   collaborative modeling or refinements or design sessions are
   effective.
   Conversational constraints theory
   Clarity: Do people understand what I am saying
   Feelings of others: Am I hurting people, or being rude?
   Own image: Do people see me the way I like them to see me.
   Space: Don’t I take to many or too little verbale and non-​
   verbale space.
   Effectiveness: How do I get what I want. How can I not get rejected.
   1.
   2.
   3.
   4.
   5.
   Group dialogue
   Considering conversation constraints theory, which of the answer you
   provided are culturally dependent, and thus artifacts.
   valuable
   results
   minimalist
   agenda and take
   aways
   minimal
   resources for
   effective outcome
   clear goal know
   to everyone
   right
   people
   having a
   facilitator
   having a smallish
   group, splitting
   up the group
   people first, then
   the problem
   honesty
   people feel
   safe
   active
   listening
   diverge
   converge
   clothes and
   feedback
   Balance
   understanding
   and understood
   gossip researching
   other cultures
   small talks
   before meeting
   start
   Getting straight
   to the point
   

   View Slide

5. Organizational culture is the pattern of basic assumptions
   that a given group has invented, discovered, or developed in
   learning to cope with its problems of external adaptation
   and internal integration, and that have worked well
   enough to be considered valid, and, therefore, to be taught
   to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and
   feel in relation to those problems.
   - Edgar Schein
   Business stakeholder
   Domain Experts
   Architects
   managers
   analyst
   ......
   Code
   Engineering
   Team
   DDD implies bi-​directional flow.
   Can we do DDD in every culture?
   

   View Slide

6. What are some examples “organizational Culture behaviour” from
   Westrum you have witnessed?
   Group dialogue
   How does the culture impact the architecture you use
   What patterns,principles or practices won’t work in certain cultures.
   1.
   2.
   Group dialogue
   Monolith, microservices, event-​driven, SOA, CQRS, Eventsourcing,
   layered, MVC, microkernel, ports and adapters
   Aggregate, conformist, shared kernel, partnership, API publish language,
   customer/supplier, Eventstorming, Example mapping, domain storytelling,
   Business model canvas, DRY, YAGNI,
   Game of
   thrones
   bold and the
   beautifull
   friends
   if you do not reach
   your goal, you are
   loosing your out started generative,
   and then
   bureaucratic came in
   We tend to be more
   rule oriented, and no
   more performance-​
   oriented
   It takes a week to
   get an answer
   from another team
   local manager
   has a lot of
   influence
   Managed
   by metric
   micro
   management
   delegate to
   the team
   

   View Slide

7. Artifacts: These are the “visible” symbols of the culture. It can include anything from clothing styles to posters on the wall to
   the volume of speech. Even if not understood, the artifacts that last are typically deeply tied to the underlying culture.
   Values: These are the “espoused” values – often found on company websites and also the area which has the greatest chance
   of being disconnected from reality.
   Basic Assumptions: These are the beliefs that people use to make day-​
   to-​
   day decisions within an organization. For example,
   an assumption may be that “it is best to speak up when I have a good idea.” Judging the assumptions and trade-​
   offs people
   make on a day-​
   to-​
   day basis is often the quickest way to understand the “real” culture.
   
   think-boundless.com
   Edgar Schein -
   Organizational Culture:
   Artifacts, Values &
   Assumptions
   Exploring Edgar Schein's ideas on
   culture including the artifacts, values &
   assumptions framework and his model
   of anxiety for "learning organizations"
   https://think-​
   boundless.com/edgar-​
   scheins-​
   anxiety-​
   assumptions-​
   powerful-​
   ideas-​
   on-​
   culture/
   

   View Slide