Dealing With More Than One Circular Patterns in EDD

Introduction

In our previous exploration of Exploratory Domain Discovery, we established the importance of identifying domain circular patterns as a key to understanding complex domains. But what happens when we encounter not just one, but multiple interacting cycles? This short article addresses this very question, offering some practical guidance for navigating the complexities of multiple circularities.

The first step in dealing with multiple cycles is understanding the relationship between them. These relationships can take various forms.

Understanding the Relationships Between Cycles

When dealing with multiple circular patterns within a domain, it’s crucial to first understand how these cycles relate to one another. These relationships can manifest in several ways:

• Nested Cycles: One cycle might be entirely contained within another, like gears within a clock. The smaller cycle operates within the context of the larger one. A clear example of nested relationships in accounting is the relationship between the financial year and seasonal posting of accounts to the journal.
• Overlapping Cycles: Different cycles might operate concurrently but with different frequencies or durations, sharing some elements but not being fully contained within each other.
• Independent Cycles: Cycles might exist within the same domain but have no direct influence on one another.
• Interdependent Cycles: Cycles can influence each other, with changes in one cycle directly impacting the behavior of another.

Nested Cycles: Prioritizing the Abstract

Nested cycles occur when one cycle is entirely contained within another, like gears within a clock. The smaller cycle operates within the context of the larger one.

A clear example of nested relationships in accounting is the relationship between the financial year and seasonal posting of accounts to the journal. The financial year represents the overarching cycle. Within this annual cycle, businesses often experience seasonal fluctuations in activity. These seasonal activities—for example, increased sales during the holiday season or higher expenses during tax season—result in corresponding increases in posting activities to the journal. These seasonal postings are nested within the larger financial year cycle.

Understanding the annual cycle provides the context for analyzing these seasonal variations. When dealing with nested cycles, a useful heuristic is to start your analysis with the most abstract or longest cycle. This broader perspective provides a framework for understanding the smaller, contained cycles within it. For instance, if you’re analyzing a software development project, starting with the overall project lifecycle (initiation, planning, execution, closure) will provide valuable context for understanding the shorter cycles of sprints or daily stand-ups.

Overlapping Cycles: Concurrent but Distinct

Overlapping cycles occur when different cycles operate concurrently within the same domain but are not fully contained within one another. They might share some elements or time periods but maintain their own distinct rhythms.

For instance, within an Online Travel Agency (OTA) domain, two common types of flight seat bookings are chartered and connected-systematic (regularly scheduled) flights. From the customer’s perspective, the reservation flow for each is roughly the same: search for flights, select a flight/seat, provide passenger details, make payment, and receive confirmation. However, from the business perspective, the operational phases of these bookings are significantly different, creating overlapping cycles. Whether these differences are immediately apparent or not, it’s crucial to apply EDD to each type separately.

Independent Cycles: Treating Them Separately

Sometimes, cycles just happen at the same time but don’t really affect each other. It’s like having two clocks in your house—they both keep ticking, but one doesn’t make the other go faster or slower. When this happens in a business or system, it’s usually okay to just know that both cycles exist but not worry too much about how they connect, unless you see a sign that they actually do affect each other.

For example a loyalty program has a cycle for redeeming points for rewards (customers selecting rewards, processing the redemption, fulfilling the reward). This happens whenever a customer chooses to redeem their points. Separately, the loyalty program has a cycle for analyzing the program’s overall performance (tracking participation rates, redemption rates, cost of rewards). This analysis might happen quarterly or annually.

Interdependent Cycles: Applying EDD to Each

Things get really interesting (and complicated) when different cycles affect each other. When this happens, it’s important to look at each cycle separately using EDD (Exploratory Domain Discovery). This means understanding what happens within each cycle: what events trigger actions, what information is used, what decisions are made, and what actions result. But that’s not the whole story. Because the cycles are linked, we also need to understand how they affect each other.

Think about payroll. There are two main parts: calculating the payroll and then recording that payroll in the accounting system. These are two separate cycles. The first cycle figures out how much everyone gets paid. The second cycle then makes the necessary entries in the company’s financial records. Whether this happens automatically or someone does it by hand, these two cycles depend on each other. The payroll calculation has to happen before it can be recorded in the accounting system.

So, when cycles are connected like this, I recommend doing EDD in three steps:

1. Look at the first cycle by itself. Understand how payroll is calculated.
2. Look at the second cycle by itself. Understand how payroll is recorded in the accounting system.
3. Look at how the two cycles connect. Understand how the information flows from the payroll calculation to the accounting records.

It’s like this: if you have two people talking to each other, you need to understand each person individually, and you need to understand the conversation they’re having. This third step—understanding the “conversation”—is key to seeing the whole picture. This way, you can see not just what each part does, but how they work together and where problems might occur.

Caution: Look Upstream First⚠️

It’s important to realize that often, identifying two separate but interdependent cycles suggests a missing, more abstract level of analysis. Before diving into individual cycles, we should first conduct EDD at a higher, more general level for the entire domain. Doing so often reveals a single, overarching cycle that encompasses the seemingly separate parts.

Semi-Final Words 🙃

Ultimately, dealing with multiple circularities requires a careful and analytical approach. By understanding the relationships between cycles—whether nested, independent, or interdependent—we can effectively navigate the complexities of any domain and gain deeper insights into its underlying workings. This focused exploration will be the key to discover the value streams.

Final Words: Make Explicit the Implicit

By treating these as separate cycles during EDD, you can avoid conflating their distinct characteristics and gain a more accurate understanding of each process. This allows you to identify specific pain points, bottlenecks, and opportunities for improvement relevant to each type of booking.