Hot spot

As explained in Architecture Modernization: Socio-technical alignment of software, strategy, and structure

A hot spot is a visual placeholder marking an area of an EventStorming timeline that warrants later discussion, such as a problem, complex part, or disagreement.

A hot spot is a dark-pink, diamond-shaped placeholder on an EventStorming timeline. It marks something important to revisit, such as a problem, complex area, disagreement, or unclear part of the business story. section 7.1.1 section 7.5

Use hot spots to preserve momentum while making uncertainty visible:

• Place one when discussion about a timeline area lasts more than two minutes. section 7.2.6
• Continue telling the end-to-end story instead of resolving every issue immediately. section 7.2.6
• Return to the marked areas for deeper conversations after the timeline is visible. section 7.5

During a timeline walk-through

A participant pauses at a complex part of the business story and the discussion begins to expand. The facilitator adds a hot spot, tells the group that the issue is recorded for later, and continues walking from left to right. section 7.2.6

Figure 7.13 A group walking the timeline, adding hot spots and domain boundaries

Shows a group walking the timeline while adding hot spots and domain boundaries. section 7.2.6

How Architecture Modernization: Socio-technical alignment of software, strategy, and structure covers it

How deep it goes

Defines the notation and its facilitation use, but stops short of prescribing how each marked issue must be resolved.

Examples

Uses dark-pink diamond stickies, a two-minute discussion threshold, and a timeline walk-through as concrete examples.

What it assumes

Assumes familiarity with EventStorming timelines and domain events, while introducing additional notation gradually.

What you can do after

Apply it during a timeline walk-through to record uncertainty without interrupting the shared business narrative.

How it connects

Connects EventStorming with domain events, roles, external systems, domain boundaries, and branching scenarios.

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Related concepts

• schedulinguses · Scheduling is the planning and coordination of when and in what order activities or computational work occur, potentially assigning them to available resources subject to constraints.
• software design EventStormingused by · Software design EventStorming is a collaborative modeling technique that explores domain events and processes to inform software structure and behavior.

This explainer was generated by Manning's knowledge graph from the text of Architecture Modernization: Socio-technical alignment of software, strategy, and structure. The section links point to the parts of the book it draws on.