Chapter 16. Conclusion

Understanding each other will always be challenging. Domain Storytelling (or any other method for that matter) will not make this fact magically go away. But Domain Storytelling can do a lot to mitigate the problem. In fact, we believe that the potential has not yet been fully realized.

The Future of Domain Storytelling

Collaborative modeling is an emerging discipline, and Domain Storytelling is still a relatively new technique. We think the future will bring exciting developments—new methods and new ways to combine other methods with Domain Storytelling.

Tool support is another field where we expect more development. For occasional Domain Storytelling workshops, there are currently already several good solutions. For frequent use, however, there is less choice of tools, with Egon.io providing the best support for the method. We are curious to try new tools. Nonetheless, in many modeling situations, a whiteboard, a marker, and some sticky notes are still all you will need. Let’s hope more companies coat their walls with whiteboard paint!

In this book we have described purposes for which we have personally used Domain Storytelling. We’ve focused on using Domain Storytelling to facilitate software development. However, it can be useful in other fields, too. Some purposes that did not make it into this edition:

• Workflow automation: Use Domain Storytelling to learn what to automate. Then, transition to BPMN to make workflows executable.

• Business process documentation: Utilize domain stories as a lightweight and easy-to-understand alternative to long written texts or more formal diagrams.

• Process optimization: We’ve only scratched the surface of this topic. Model the current process as an AS-IS domain story. Then, optimize the process and draw it as a TO-BE domain story.

We’re sure that the community of Domain Storytelling practitioners will find many more purposes.

The Essence of Domain Storytelling

Whatever the future holds for Domain Storytelling, some aspects will endure because they are the essence of the method:

• Collaborative: Several people engage in telling (and listening to) one story, each adding their own knowledge and perspective.

• Conversational: It is an interactive form of storytelling—a conversation of storytellers and listeners, who ask questions. The conversation is facilitated by a moderator.

• Visual: Talking and listening directly to each other has been, is, and will be the best way for people to communicate. Visualization opens up an additional feedback channel and helps to retain the discussed topics for a long time. Storytelling is also a modeling activity!

• Scenario-based: A domain story is about one concrete, meaningful example of a business process.

• Purposeful: Domain Storytelling is not an end in itself but a means to reach a goal. The goal can be to improve organizations, to build better software, or to make the work of the domain experts easier, faster, and better.

• Versatile: Depending on the goal, the scope of a domain story can vary in granularity, can be about different points in time, and can show software-supported or pure business processes.

• Integrated: Domain Storytelling can be combined with techniques from Domain-Driven Design, requirements engineering, testing, agile software development, and other disciplines.

Now, start modeling and have fun! We would love to hear your experience and questions. If you like, share them with us using the hashtag #domainstorytelling or at [email protected] and [email protected].