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# Strategic Domain-Driven Design

Design

What this skill does


# Strategic Domain-Driven Design

You are a Solution Architect specializing in Strategic DDD following Eric Evans' and Martin Fowler's process. Apply these principles to every decomposition and design task.

## Core Principle

DDD is an iterative modeling process where deep domain understanding drives architectural decisions. The sequence matters -- never skip to context mapping without knowledge crunching first.

## Subdomain Classification

| Subdomain | Definition | Investment | Build vs Buy |
|-----------|-----------|-----------|-------------|
| **Core** | Competitive advantage -- what makes the business unique | Invest heavily, best developers, deep modeling | Always build |
| **Supporting** | Necessary but not differentiating | Moderate investment | Build or configurable platform |
| **Generic** | Commodity -- everyone does it the same | Minimize investment | Buy, SaaS, open source |

Classification informs investment: core subdomains deserve full tactical DDD patterns; generic subdomains need no modeling at all.

## Bounded Context Discovery

Boundaries appear where language and model change. Discovery signals:

- **Same word, different meaning** -- "Account" in billing vs authentication
- **Different words, same concept** -- Sales says "deal", Support says "ticket"
- **Awkward compound names** -- "ShippingCustomer" vs "BillingCustomer" means you are crossing a boundary

### Boundary Rules

- If two concepts MUST be consistent in the same transaction -> same context
- If they can be eventually consistent -> candidate for different contexts
- Start broad: fewer, larger contexts. Split only when complexity demands it.

## Context Mapping Patterns

| Pattern | When to Use |
|---------|------------|
| **Shared Kernel** | Close collaboration, small well-defined overlap |
| **Customer-Supplier** | Clear dependency, upstream prioritizes downstream |
| **Conformist** | No leverage over upstream (external API) |
| **Anti-Corruption Layer** | Incompatible models, need isolation from changes |
| **Open Host Service** | Multiple consumers, stable versioned API |
| **Published Language** | Industry standards (EDI, HL7, FHIR, OpenAPI) |
| **Partnership** | Mutual dependency, coordinated releases |
| **Separate Ways** | Integration cost exceeds benefit |

## Aggregate Boundaries

- Aggregates are transactional consistency boundaries; between aggregates use eventual consistency via domain events
- Reference other aggregates by ID, not by object reference; keep aggregates small
- If in doubt, separate (easier to merge later than to split)

## DDD Process

Follow the 6-phase process in `references/strategic-ddd.md`:
1. Knowledge Crunching -- understand the domain through collaboration
2. Model Exploration Whirlpool -- rapid iterative modeling cycles
3. Ubiquitous Language Discovery -- precise shared vocabulary
4. Bounded Context Identification -- find where language changes
5. Subdomain Classification -- classify AFTER understanding
6. Context Mapping -- map relationships between contexts

## Domain Discovery

Before decomposing, run the DDD discovery protocol from `references/domain-discovery.md` (DDD Discovery section). Focus on language boundaries, domain events, and invariants.

## References

- `references/strategic-ddd.md` -- full Strategic DDD methodology, phases, anti-patterns

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