#75 - Domain Storytelling: Building Domain-Driven Software Collaboratively - Stefan Hofer

“It’s great if developers have understanding about the domain, because then they can propose better solutions, that’s not necessarily the same solution that the users have in mind, which are often limited by what they know." Stefan Hofer is the co-author of Domain Storytelling–a collaborative, visual and agile way to build domain-driven software. In this episode, Stefan shared the story of how he came up with Domain Storytelling and explained how this technique can help us understand business domain better and bridge the misunderstandings between software developers and domain experts. Stefan walked us through how the modeling works, including the notations and other pictorial aspects of it, and emphasized the importance of the collaborative aspect of Domain Storytelling. Stefan then explained how Domain Storytelling differs from other similar modeling techniques, such as Event Storming, and gave practical tips on how to run a successful online collaborative workshop. Listen out for: Career Journey - [00:05:51] How Domain Storytelling Started - [00:07:01] Misunderstandings are Common Problems - [00:09:52] Importance of Understanding Domain - [00:12:08] Domain Storytelling - [00:13:46] The DDD Angle- [00:19:01] When Domain Expert is Unavailable - [00:20:34] Domain Storytelling Tools - [00:22:59] Pictographic Language - [00:25:51] Translating into Software - [00:30:23] Difference with Event Storming - [00:33:24] Online Collaborative Workshop - [00:38:00] 3 Tech Lead Wisdom - [00:43:13] _____ Stefan Hofer’s Bio Stefan Hofer is bad at drawing. However, he thinks he can build up domain knowledge by drawing domain stories. Stefan studied software engineering in Austria and earned a PhD in computer science. Since 2005, he has been working for WPS – Workplace Solutions in Hamburg, Germany. His job there is to help teams develop software that does the right job the right way. He maintains domainstorytelling.org. Follow Stefan: Twitter – @hofstef LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/hofstef/ Website – https://domainstorytelling.org/ Egon.io – http://egon.io/ Our Sponsor Today’s episode is proudly sponsored by Skills Matter, the global community and events platform for software professionals. Skills Matter is an easier way for technologists to grow their careers by connecting you and your peers with the best-in-class tech industry experts and communities. You get on-demand access to their latest content, thought leadership insights as well as the exciting schedule of tech events running across all time zones. Head on over to skillsmatter.com to become part of the tech community that matters most to you - it’s free to join and easy to keep up with the latest tech trends. Like this episode? Subscribe on your favorite podcast app and submit your feedback. Follow @techleadjournal on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. Pledge your support by becoming a patron. For more info about the episode (including quotes and transcript), visit techleadjournal.dev/episodes/75.