// written together with Paweł Sroczyński, programmer and owner of Rowerek.pl
In the previous article I broadly described the Event Storming workshop and its specific use cases in IT projects.
However, I noticed that very few resources mention whether and how this workshop could be scaled beyond the framework of IT systems. To solve this issue, we decided to describe how to use Event Storming to improve the processes of a company or organization. Read more for a bunch of tips and our thoughts, along with photos from the workshops we co-led.
Why bother with Event Storming as an organization?
Every company has established processes (more or less clearly) that allow it to operate and achieve its goals. Often, however, the way individual units or entire departments operate is not effective. Some things occur completely without our knowledge, and just as often we multitask. The clear issue here is knowledge distribution here, which Alberto brilliantly presented in his presentation about Event Storming:
The typical, most frequently used solution to these problems is to increase the number of meetings organized and e-mails sent. This results in more and more time spent on communication, usually with very few results. We waste time in meetings instead of doing work. We feel like we can work more effectively, but we can’t quite get there.
Event Storming can help you to solve this problem once and for all. A company workshop itself can be approached in at least two main ways: as a Big Picture or Single Process.
For ease of reference, those methods are described in separate articles:
Summary
Event Storming allows you to visualize the organization’s work in a simpler way through the simultaneous and joint exchange of knowledge between employees. Each colleague is involved, shares their area of work, and provides as much information about their work scope as possible.
Event Storming has a low entry threshold, so even people not familiar with information technology can take an active part in it. We can explain the word “event” / “fact” to anyone, and after just a few minutes of introduction, the group is ready to start working.
An additional aspect worth mentioning is the psychological factor. By placing a piece of paper with a marker in each participant’s hand, we all become equal. Everyone can take part in the discussion and share their unique perspective.
