The Collaborative Event Storming Tool Your Team Needs

Searching for the right Event Storming tool?

Whiteboards get messy and are hard to use with remote teams. Qlerify is an online Event Storming tool that adds structure to your sessions and uses AI to speed up the design process.

To get started, log in to Qlerify or sign up for free, create a project, and follow the steps below. This guide walks you through a Software Design-level Event Storming session in Qlerify.

For a deeper introduction to the method, read Event Storming - The Complete Guide.

Step 1: Create a new workflow

Create a new, empty workflow and open it. You will see a blank workspace similar to the image below. From here you can click Add start point, Generate workflow with AI or Start with MCP, or open the workflow settings.

For more details about this view, click the question mark icon.

Step 2: Review card types

Open the workflow settings by clicking the cogwheel above the diagram, then select the Cards tab.

Each new workflow comes with a default set of card types that you can use for Big Picture, Process Modeling, and Software Design-level Event Storming. You can add, update, and remove card types as needed. The default set includes:

The Given-When-Then (GWT) and User Story card types are not part of standard Event Storming. You can use GWTs to extend a Software Design session, but this example leaves both out.

So update the Card Type Settings as follows:

• Show in backlog: Make Problem and Opportunity visible in the backlog by clicking the eye icon to remove the strikethrough, so you can plan them into releases in Step 8.
• Use AI: Clear Given-When-Then and Read Model, and select Problem and Opportunity. The AI then generates problems and opportunities instead of GWTs and read models.

• Domain Model Role: Make sure these roles are selected in the dropdown:
  • For the Command card type, select Command.
  • For the Aggregate Root card type, select Aggregate Root.
• Rename the Aggregate Root card type to Aggregate, since this is an Event Storming session rather than a full domain model. Update its description to:
  • "The aggregate that the command is invoked on in this step of the process."

Note: Qlerify uses card types with the Domain Model Role Command, Read Model, or Aggregate Root to group commands and events around aggregates at the end of the Software Design session.

Note: If you find the term Aggregate confusing, rename it to something like "Entity" or "Information Object".

Finally, review the description of each card type by clicking Show description, and update it if needed. The descriptions are used in AI prompts. Then close the settings to return to the workflow diagram.

Step 3: Generate with AI

Several LLMs (large language models) are available. This example uses Claude Sonnet 5. You can choose the model in the workflow settings, under the AI tab.

On the blank canvas, click Generate workflow with AI (the button is hidden once the workflow contains events). Below the prompt box, click the example "The CRM process used by Salesforce". You can edit the prompt to add detail:

• Simple prompt: "The CRM process used by Salesforce"
• Detailed prompt: "The CRM process used by Salesforce, including the steps: Lead created by Sales Person, Lead qualified by Sales Manager, Opportunity created by Sales Person, etc."

Next, clear the Generate Command Attributes with AI and Generate Entities with AI checkboxes. These are used for Event Modeling and Domain-Driven Design. Then click Generate workflow.

The result may look similar to the example below, though output varies considerably between runs.

Step 4: Collaborate

Go through the workflow step by step with your team and confirm that each step is correct. Invite team members to the project to co-edit in real time. Sometimes it works better if one person operates the tool while the others contribute verbally, depending on the situation and your facilitation style.

Start with the first event, "Lead Created", and follow these steps:

1. Review the event: Is it correct, or should another event come before it? Rearrange events with drag and drop. To add events manually or with AI, use the menu that appears below a selected event.

2. Check the actor or role: Swimlanes represent actors or roles. If the swimlanes are wrong, you can:
   • Rename swimlanes
   • Reorder swimlanes
   • Add swimlanes with the Add lane button below the diagram
   • Drag and drop events between swimlanes

3. Open the sidebar: If the event is correct, select it and open the sidebar.

4. In the sidebar, update the command name if needed. You can also change the AI-generated aggregate name.

Note: When you edit the aggregate, a combo box lets you generate entities. Skip that for now and enter the aggregate name as free text.

5. Identify hotspots (problems and opportunities): Discuss with your team which problems and opportunities exist in this step. Add them manually or with AI. You can revisit all cards later.
6. Decisions / Policies: In the original Event Storming method, a policy (purple card, or "lie detector") follows each event. In Qlerify, we use Decisions / Policies only at branching points in the process. This departs from the original method, but in our experience it works well.

7. Alternative approach to decisions: Instead of placing a decision after an event, add a GWT condition to the next event that states what must be true for the workflow to continue.

Step 5: Iterate

Repeat Step 4 for each event to refine the workflow. You do not need to finish in one session; you can return to the workflow later with different groups of people.

Things to keep in mind:

• Complete the happy path first, then the most important alternative paths.
• Qlerify places start points and the first event of each group at the far left or directly after a vertical divider (a group boundary). Every other event sits one step to the right of its parent. The fixed layout takes some getting used to, but you never have to rearrange boxes and lines by hand.

• To add a start point, click Add start point below the diagram. This adds a new swimlane with a start point in its first group. To place one elsewhere, hover over any cell, open its menu, and choose Add start point here. Start points can be merged with existing events as needed.

• To add a group, click Add group below the diagram, then click where the group should start. You can also add a group next to an existing one from any cell's menu with Add group before or Add group after. To align events horizontally, stack them at the start of a group. We recommend using groups to divide the canvas into phases or stages.

Step 6 (Optional): Read models and commands

Qlerify also supports defining entities, read model attributes, and command attributes. For details, see our guides to Event Modeling and Domain-Driven Design.

Step 7: Aggregates view and bounded contexts

Open the Domain Model tab below the workflow diagram to see commands and events grouped by aggregate.

The view may look like the image below. Each command (blue box) has its event to the right, at the same height. This gives you a summary of your aggregates and the commands available on each.

Next, assign a bounded context to each aggregate by clicking Select bounded context. After you create and select bounded contexts, for example Lead Management and CRM, the view may look like this:

Each bounded context box has two tabs: Domain View and Push Spec. Use Push Spec to push the bounded context's domain model specification to a GitHub repository.

Step 8: Wrap up

You have now captured the workflow and the foundation of its domain model.

Finally, plan the problems, opportunities, and GWTs you identified into releases. Use the Backlog or the User Story Map tab below the workflow; this example uses the User Story Map:

1. Assign each item to a release.
2. Use the filter above the diagram to focus on one or more releases and see how the planned improvements affect the end-to-end workflow.