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WeAreDevelopers LIVE • Jan 19, 2024

Domain-Driven Transformation—How to Bring (Back) Sustainable Architecture to Legacy and Monoliths

Henning Schwentner

Taming a legacy monolith doesn't require a high-risk rewrite. Discover how domain-driven transformation untangles a big ball of mud into a sustainable, deployable architecture.

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#1 about 6 min

Transforming legacy monoliths into modern software systems

Modernizing outdated applications requires converting tangled monolithic structures into useful modern components.

#2 about 3 min

Analyzing a legacy car leasing enterprise application

A legacy case study highlights the limitations of outdated J2EE architecture in modern agile workflows.

#3 about 4 min

Diagnosing structural diseases in legacy software systems

Identifying root causes like the big ball of mud, anemic domain models, and poor team organization informs targeted refactoring strategies.

#4 about 6 min

Tackling essential software complexity with strategic design

Controlling software complexity requires systematically dividing large systems into manageable strategic transformations.

#5 about 5 min

Rediscovering domain knowledge through collaborative modeling techniques

Lightweight collaborative tools like event storming and domain storytelling bridge the gap between business processes and technical implementations.

#6 about 4 min

Drawing architectural boundaries to define target subdomains

Grouping specific actor activities uncovers distinct bounded contexts essential for modeling robust target software architectures.

#7 about 9 min

Aligning horizontal current architecture with vertical goals

Analyzing source code reveals layered horizontal dependencies that must be refactored to support vertical, subdomain-oriented modules.

#8 about 6 min

Planning incremental legacy migrations with improvement backlogs

Balancing user stories with strategic refactoring tasks ensures steady architectural improvements without halting product delivery.

#9 about 7 min

Executing incremental code extractions in legacy codebases

Duplicating minimal structural logic into independent contexts enables safe, viable deployment steps that gradually dissolve the monolith.

#10 about 2 min

Realities of sustaining long-term legacy software transformations

Continuous domain-driven improvement is a lengthy marathon that requires persistent teamwork to achieve sustainable code health.

#11 about 16 min

Tools, team topologies, and tracking architectural transitions

Static analysis plugins, automated testing libraries, and mapped cross-functional team boundaries help enforce ongoing architectural health.

Matching moments

8:14 min

Restructuring the monolith using domain-driven design

Jens Happe Jens Happe · LIVE

7:23 min

Managing domain duplication and evolving early architectures

Carola Lilienthal Carola Lilienthal · WWC 2022

5:06 min

Modernizing legacy applications through proactive leadership

Babette Wagner Babette Wagner · Coffee With Developers

1:22 min

Structuring engineering teams around domain bounded contexts

Tom George · LIVE

4:33 min

Building long-term Angular architectures with domain-driven design

Manfred Steyer Manfred Steyer · LIVE

1:55 min

Overview of domain-driven design techniques

Eberhard Wolff Eberhard Wolff · WWC 2025

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