DDD Europe 2025 - Program

Limitation-driven exploration: Hands-on modelling workshop

DDD Europe - Hands-on Lab

Speakers

Thomas Coopman

Thomas Coopman
Description

This is a hands on lab with limited capacity.

Domain modelling is a fundamental skill in software design, yet practitioners often fall into comfortable patterns that may limit their modelling effectiveness.

This interactive 2-hour workshop challenges you to break free from conventional thinking by exploring varying modelling limitations.

Working in small groups, you will engage in multiple modelling rounds where you tackle problem domains while adapting to randomly assigned restrictions that push their creative boundaries.

Example limitations could be: "no verbal communication" or "UI-only modelling". These intentional boundaries will force you to explore alternative modelling techniques and communication strategies. After each modelling session, small structured retrospectives a run in order to evaluate their experiences, share insights, and discuss how the restrictions influenced their modelling decisions and group dynamics.

By the end of this workshop, you will have practiced domain modelling from multiple perspectives, strengthened your ability to communicate complex models through various means, and explored when and how to apply different modelling approaches in your daily work.

About Thomas Coopman

Thomas Coopman is a senior consultant at Aardling. He trains and consults teams working in complex environments to bring meaningful change to their organisations. He has built deep expertise in Domain-Driven Design and optimising for team productivity and efficacy.

Thomas excels with organisations that recognise that high-performing teams need both technical excellence and a relentless focus on process, practices, and environment.

His childhood curiosity with computers took him to the University of Leuven to study computer science. While there, he grew an enduring love for learning new programming languages, with a current proclivity for all things functional programming.

Thomas teaches several public classes on topics ranging from Strategic Design, EventStorming, and Tactical Patterns at DDD Academy. He’s also a regular public speaker, with recent well-received talks at DDD Europe and KanDDDinksy.

Outside of software, Thomas is a keen parent and a triathlon hobbyist.