Season Four Wrap: Whose Design Is It Anyway? with Swadia, Windholtz, Rezentes, and Keathley

To close off this season and conclude our deep dive into system and application architecture, today’s episode is a special panel discussion on a topic that has provoked a mix of answers that range from the controversial to the philosophical — “What does domain-driven design mean to you?” For the final word on this subject, we welcome back software developers Chris Keathley, Japa Swadia, Mark Windholtz, and Miki Rezentes. Our first hot take comes from Miki, who shares her thoughts about how domain-driven design developed because the tech industry undervalues communication. Following this, Mark and Japa discuss how domain-driven design gives developers a context for what they create while informing how you code using Elixir. We then touch on whether domain-driven design makes it easier or more difficult to change your code and how communication is valued within a business context. We explore key domain-driven design concepts, including the role of bounded contexts, and how this design ethos can help you appeal to stakeholders such as product managers. After Miki highlights the reasons why communication should be seen as a vital tech skill, each guest provides their final thoughts on domain-driven design. Tune in for this season’s insightful finale and find out which of today’s guests is the winner of “Whose Design Is It Anyway?”

Key Points From This Episode:

• Introducing guests Chris Keathley, Japa Swadia, Mark Windholtz, and Miki Rezentes.
• Hear what domain-driven design means for each guest.
• Miki shares her hot take that domain-driven design is “nothing new under the sun.”
• Why the essence of domain-driven design is about listening.
• How domain-driven design can inform your Elixir architecture.
• Mapping your system and developing names for your bounded contexts.
• Domain-driven design trade-offs and how it can lead to a loss of productivity.
• The idea that domain-driven design has developed because the tech industry undervalues communication.
• Why communication should be valued — bad communication costs money.
• How tech companies are generally aligned with the goals of domain-driven design.
• Why Mark is so delighted to be working with Elixir and domain-driven design.
• The link between domain-driven design and developing better products.
• Exploring how bounded contexts allow teams to create solutions to unique problems.
• Seeing communication as a tech skill that should be learned early in your career.
• Our guests share their final thoughts on domain-driven design.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

SmartLogic — https://smartlogic.io/
Chris Keathley on Twitter — @ChrisKeathley/
Chris Keathley — https://keathley.io/
Japa Swadia on Twitter — https://twitter.com/japa2292
Japa Swadia on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/japaswadia/
Mark Windholtz on Twitter — https://twitter.com/windholtz
Mark Windholtz on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/mwindholtz/
Miki Rezentes on Twitter — https://twitter.com/mikirez
Miki Rezentes on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/miki-rezentes-823ba02a/
Podium — https://www.podium.com/
Elixir Outlaws — https://elixiroutlaws.com/
Agile DNA — http://www.agiledna.com
Frame.io — https://frame.io/
Bleacher Report — https://bleacherreport.com/
Domain-Driven Design: Tackling Complexity in the Heart of Software on Amazon— https://www.amazon.com/Domain-Driven-Design-Tackling-Complexity-Software/dp/0321125215
Domain Language — https://www.domainlanguage.com/
The Seven Laws of Learning: Why Great Leaders Are Also Great Teachers on Amazon
— https://www.amazon.com/Seven-Laws-Learning-Leaders-Teachers/dp/1599559277
Patterns, Principles, and Practices of Domain-Driven Design on Amazon — https://www.amazon.com/Patterns-Principles-Practices-Domain-Driven-Design/dp/1118714709
‘Ubiquitous Language’ — https://martinfowler.com/bliki/UbiquitousLanguage.html
‘Value Object’ — https://martinfowler.com/bliki/ValueObject.html
Domain-Driven Design Europe — https://dddeurope.com/2021/
Domain-Driven Design Europe on YouTube — https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3PGn-hQdbtRiqxZK9XBGqQ
A Philosophy of Software Design on Amazon — https://www.amazon.com/Philosophy-Software-Design-John-Ousterhout/dp/1732102201
Eric Evans Training Videos — https://elearn.domainlanguage.com/
Designing Elixir Systems with OTP — https://www.amazon.com/Designing-Elixir-Systems-OTP-Self-healing/dp/1680506617/
Whose Line Is It Anyway? — https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0163507/
Drew Carey — https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004804/

Special Guests: Chris Keathley, Japa Swadia, and Miki Rezentes.