Design better Solutions with Design Sessions

A technic to better design solutions in a collaborative way

How to ?

Once a team member wants to open a new Product Backlog Item, User Story or feature implementation, we do an instant meeting in front of a whiteboard and a computer.

• We start by agreeing on its definition
• Be sure we are all aligned on what needs to be done

‌We use a whiteboard to align ourselves on the different flows to implement

We open the source code or create a new one and start designing the contracts. From our external layers (APIs for example) to our Domain model : POCOs / POJOs, DTOs / Commands.

We don’t implement anything except of the contracts

We throw exceptions throw new NotImplementedException() BUT we agree on the naming / parameters.

We put TODOs in the code to be clear what is expected to implement

Later on I have learned that this TODO approach to implementation had a name : Puzzle Driven Development

The whole team or part of it can now work on the implementation by knowing exactly what to do.‌

Pros

• Instant alignment feedback on what needs to be done
• Increased knowledge sharing
• Quick up-skilling for new-joiners
• Better solution when designed collaboratively : “Alone we go faster together we go further”
• Avoid feedback loops (in code reviews for example) when no team alignment
• Reinforce the collective ownership feeling inside the team
• Help to shape a real team spirit as well
• Everyone is involved at the beginning of everything