The 4 out of 5 Roles-A Collaborative Performance

Introduction

Exploratory Domain Discovery is like a collaborative performance, where each participant plays a unique role to bring the domain discovery process to life. Much like actors on a stage, each person contributes their skills and expertise to create a unified, impactful result. In this article, I’ll explore the five key roles in an EDD workshop—Facilitator, Scribe, Time Keeper, Practitioner, and Narrator—comparing each to a role in a performance and illustrating how their contributions help shape the final outcome of the workshop.

Who Should Be Invited? (The Cast of Characters)

Just like in any performance, the right people need to be invited to the stage. In an EDD workshop, two main groups are invited: those who have questions and those who have answers.

The group with questions is typically made up of people who are working to understand the domain more deeply. This could include product managers, business analysts, or stakeholders who need clarity about how the system works. The group with answers is made up of those who know the domain and can provide the necessary insights. This includes developers, UI/UX designers, testers, and anyone else with technical or domain expertise.

Together, these two groups can collaborate to create a shared understanding of the domain, uncover hidden insights, and model it collaboratively. By bringing together people who have different perspectives, an EDD workshop helps uncover the full scope of the domain and its complexities.

The Facilitator: The Director

In any performance, the director is responsible for guiding the actors, ensuring the play runs smoothly, and keeping everything on track. Similarly, the Facilitator in EDD is the director of the workshop. They set the stage, manage the flow of the session, and make sure that every participant plays their part. The Facilitator helps navigate the group through the complex domain modeling process, ensuring that all voices are heard, and that the group stays focused on the workshop’s objectives. Like a director, they encourage collaboration, resolve conflicts, and create an environment where everyone can shine.

The Facilitator needs to know EDD really well and have experience using it. They should also understand collaborative modeling and have a clear idea of what the workshop is supposed to achieve. The goal isn’t just to run the workshop, but to produce a specific result, such as a model or a plan. The Facilitator keeps the group focused on this goal and ensures everything stays on course.

The Scribe: The Stage Manager

In a play, the Stage Manager helps keep everything organized behind the scenes. In EDD, the Scribe plays a similar role. They write the Domain Concepts and Examples on sticky notes and place them on the wall for everyone to see. This helps visualize the evolving ideas and decisions made during the workshop. The Scribe ensures that the group’s work is documented in a way that can be easily referred back to. They help keep track of what happens during the workshop and ensure that nothing important is forgotten.

The Practitioner: The Actors

The Practitioner is like the actors in a performance—they bring deep knowledge and experience to the group. In an EDD workshop, Practitioners are the domain experts, product managers, product owners, developers, UI/UX designers, software testers, and other stakeholders. Each Practitioner brings their unique expertise to the table, helping the group understand different aspects of the domain. Just like actors bring life to the script, Practitioners make sure that the ideas discussed can be turned into actionable solutions.

The Narrator: The Scriptwriter

In a play, the scriptwriter creates the story. The Narrator in EDD does something similar, but with a twist. After each round of exploration, the Narrator reviews the sticky notes on the wall and narrates the story. They first narrate the domain concepts from the end to the start, then reverse the process, narrating from start to end. This back-and-forth helps the group understand the full scope of their discoveries. The Narrator begins by explaining the domain concepts, followed by the corresponding examples, helping everyone see the connections between the two. This process not only clarifies the thinking of the group but also ties all the concepts and examples together into a cohesive narrative.

The Time Keeper: The Producer

Just as a producer ensures that a performance runs on time and within budget, the Time Keeper in EDD ensures that the workshop adheres to its schedule. They manage time, keeping track of how long each segment of the workshop lasts, and making sure the group doesn’t linger too long on any one idea. The Time Keeper helps maintain the pacing of the session, ensuring that the actors (participants) stay on track and that the entire performance moves smoothly from one scene to the next without running out of time. They are the behind-the-scenes manager, ensuring the process is efficient and effective.

Optionality of Roles: Flexibility in Team Composition

While each role in an EDD workshop is important, some flexibility is possible in how these roles are assigned. The most vital role is the Facilitator, who should always be a separate person from the other roles. The Facilitator needs to be experienced with EDD, have a strong understanding of the session’s goals, and be able to guide the group through the process.

The Time Keeper is a role that can be taken on by the Facilitator themselves if needed, as it is primarily about managing time and ensuring that the session stays on schedule. However, in larger workshops, it’s often helpful to have a separate person for this role to allow the Facilitator to focus on guiding the group.

Other roles, like the Scribe, Narrator, and Practitioner, can be more flexible depending on the size and structure of the group. For example, the Scribe could be one of the Practitioners, or the Narrator could alternate between participants.

However, it’s crucial that the Facilitator remains a separate person, as they are responsible for managing the flow and keeping everyone focused on the end goal.