Good practices, collaboration tools, and effective techniques for incorporating your key stakeholders into the software design process.

In Collaborative Software Design: How to facilitate domain modeling decisions you’ll learn how to:

• Prepare and facilitate collaborative modeling sessions with tools such as Business Model Canvas, Event Storming, Example Mapping, and Wardley Mapping
• Pick and apply heuristics for modeling software design
• Structure, visualize, and make sustainable software design decisions
• Best practices for getting all needed insight from the group
• Dealing with resistance
• Create awareness around biases and ranking during a modeling session
• Best practices for following up after a modeling session
• Document the session and report to stakeholders

Don’t spend months building the wrong software! Collaborative Software Design: How to facilitate domain modeling decisions is a unique and practical guide for effectively involving all stakeholders in the design of software. It combines tried-and-tested collaborative modeling tools such as Event Storming and domain storytelling with vital skills to overcome rank, mitigate cognitive bias, and resolve conflicts. Best of all, collaborative modeling makes it easy for software teams to design software directly with their stakeholders—no need to rely on a centralized or top-down design.

Purchase of the print book includes a free eBook in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats from Manning Publications.

About the technology

It’s a challenge to arrive at achievable, sustainable software design decisions. Fortunately, there’s a collection of tools and techniques you can use to facilitate productive decision-making sessions, even when you involve a diverse group of business and technical stakeholders.

Collaborative modeling is a highly effective approach to software design that incorporates stakeholders directly in the decision-making process. It uses process visualizations, engaging sessions, and social dynamic management to ensure everyone is contributing to a shared goal.

About the book

Collaborative Software Design: How to facilitate domain modeling decisions is a practical guide to conducting effective software design sessions that involve all business and technical stakeholders. It lays out pragmatic techniques for making collaborative design decisions, ensuring you’re getting a group’s full participation and input to solve real business problems. You’ll deliver results by combining collaborative modeling tools, and learn how to manage conflicts, handle resistance, and keep everyone involved even when a session has ended. Put these techniques into practice, and you’ll be able to facilitate incredibly effective design sessions in which everyone’s voices are heard.

About the reader

For any tech leader who wants to make better architectural decisions.

About the author

Evelyn van Kelle is a strategic software delivery consultant, with experience in coaching, advising, facilitating, and guiding organizations and teams in designing and maintaining socio-technical systems. Gien Verschatse is an experienced consultant and software engineer that specializes in domain modeling and software architecture. Kenny Baas-Schwegler is a strategic software delivery consultant and agile software architect focusing on socio-technical systems thinking.