Optimizing Organizational Flow with Wardley Mapping & DDD • Susanne Kaiser & James Lewis • GOTO 2024

Combining Wardley Mapping, Domain-Driven Design (DDD), and Team Topologies creates a powerful approach for optimizing organizational flow and identifying system boundaries

Focus on finding the right bounded contexts and domain boundaries while validating them continuously through feedback and practical application

Shared domain code in libraries can lead to coupling issues and distributed monoliths - keep domain logic separate between bounded contexts

Cross-department collaboration reveals different meanings and interpretations of the same concepts (like “customer”) across contexts, highlighting the importance of ubiquitous language

Value stream mapping complements Wardley mapping by providing process-level views and helping identify constraints and bottlenecks

Team cognitive load must be considered when designing systems - clear ownership boundaries help teams focus on core domains

Start with fundamentals and simple examples when teaching these concepts to teams, rather than diving into complex implementations

Architecture should be adaptive and evolve based on feedback, rather than being designed in isolation

Consider both the technical and socio-technical aspects of system design, including team organization and Conway’s Law

Involve actual teams in the mapping and design process instead of making decisions from an “ivory tower” perspective

Look for manual processes and “shadow IT” as indicators of potential system improvements or missing functionality

Regular validation and iteration of boundaries and designs is crucial - this is not a one-time exercise but a continuous process