Strategic DDD Virtual Workshop (4 x 3hr) - Oct 2026
- Dates: October 5-8, 2026 (Mon-Thu)
- Time: 9:00 am - Noon MDT (UTC-06:00)
- Location: Live online (Zoom + Miro)
- Instructor: Paul Rayner, author of The EventStorming Handbook, founder of Explore DDD Conference
What you'll learn
- Advanced context mapping strategies
- Relationship patterns: Customer-Supplier, Anticorruption Layer, Open Host Service, and more
- Core domain identification and strategic distillation techniques
- Large-scale structure patterns for complex systems
- Strategies for evolving existing systems using DDD
- Hands-on modeling exercises throughout
"Understanding the value of context mapping and more advanced of Event storming (especially on defining timelines and policy)." -- Workshop Participant
Who should attend
Senior developers, architects, technical leads, engineering managers, and system designers. This course is for practitioners who want to go deeper into the strategic side of DDD, focusing on how to organize and evolve complex systems at scale.
Prerequisites
Essential DDD or equivalent DDD experience recommended. You should be familiar with foundational DDD concepts such as bounded contexts, ubiquitous language, and basic tactical patterns (Entities, Value Objects, Aggregates).
Format & tools
- 4 live, instructor-led sessions (3 hours each) via Zoom + Miro.
- Highly interactive: short demos, hands-on exercises, breakout rooms, and Q&A.
- Please join camera-on with a mic and stable internet; this collaborative format depends on real-time discussion.
You'll receive prep details a couple of weeks beforehand and an electronic certificate of completion afterward.
We run this as a camera-on, participatory format. If that isn't feasible for you, this workshop may not be the right fit.
Pricing & teams
- Individual ticket: $1,450 earlybird, $1,650 regular
- Group discounts:
- 3-5 tickets: $100 off each
- 6+: $200 off each
Curriculum outline
Session 1 -- Strategic Context
- Why strategic design matters at scale
- Bounded contexts revisited: ownership, autonomy, and team alignment
- Context mapping: identifying relationships between systems and teams
- Practice: mapping a complex system landscape
Session 2 -- Relationship Patterns
- Customer-Supplier, Conformist, Anticorruption Layer
- Open Host Service, Published Language, Shared Kernel
- Partnership and Separate Ways
- Practice: choosing patterns for real-world integration scenarios
Session 3 -- Distillation & Core Domain
- Identifying your core domain and competitive advantage
- Supporting and generic subdomains: build vs. buy decisions
- Strategic distillation techniques
- Practice: distillation exercises on case studies
Session 4 -- Evolving Systems
- Large-scale structure patterns
- Incremental strategies for modernizing legacy systems
- Aligning technical boundaries with organizational boundaries
- Plan how to apply strategic DDD in your context
About the instructor
Paul Rayner is a developer, coach, and popular conference speaker with 30+ years' experience. He founded the Explore DDD conference and co-founded DDD Denver. Paul wrote The EventStorming Handbook and co-authored BDD with Cucumber. He teaches and consults on DDD and EventStorming through Virtual Genius. He lives in Denver with his family.
Questions?
Email info@virtualgenius.com and we'll gladly answer any other questions you may have about our workshops and coaching.