DDD Europe is a place for learners and an incubator for new ideas

Posted on 2026-04-27 - 3 minute read

For our 10th anniversary, we have asked some of our alumni speakers to reflect on how Domain-Driven Design, the community, or the conference itself has evolved over the past decade.

Henning and Stefan have been around from the start of DDD Europe. Stefan Hofer holds a PhD in computer science and has been working at WPS (Workplace Solutions) since 2005, where requirements analysis and domain-driven design became his primary focus. Henning Schwentner is a coder, coach, and consultant, also at WPS, who helps teams bring structure to existing software or build new systems with a sustainable architecture from scratch. Together, they are the inventors of Domain Storytelling and co-authors of the first book on the method, published by Addison-Wesley in 2022.

DDD Europe has always been a place for learners. Also, it is an incubator in which new ideas grow and gain traction.

So, it was no coincidence that, back in 2018, DDD Europe was the first conference to give a platform to Domain Storytelling, a then new Collaborative Modelling technique. When we started our hands-on session, it was just amazing to see how crowded the room was, packed with people eager to learn and practice a new method. The audience did embrace both our session and the method. So much that we decided (literally on the flight back home) to write a book about it. In the years that followed, other speakers took up the ideas and used Domain Storytelling in their talks, this is an example for the organic growth the conference fosters!

We’re not the only ones with such a story: DDD Europe brings together people with great ideas. The inviting atmosphere makes it easy to give and receive feedback. Presenting here gives you the confidence to turn an idea into something that changes the world.

DDD Europe has grown as well. The format of workshops combined with a three-day core conference allows for a mix of new ideas and sharing established techniques with a new audience.

We enjoyed each and every instalment of DDD Europe. It is just that heart-warming feeling of meeting your friends again, mixed with the excitement of meeting new people. We congratulate cordially to its 10th anniversary. May many decades of providing a platform for new ideas follow!

Check out Domain Storytelling, the one-day workshop planned on June 9 with Henning Schwentner.