Mental model often formed much more around what kind of data flows and interactions happen between components.
As a big fan of Domain Driven Design I found "domain storytelling" a useful technique when adapted to software systems.
With these diagrams it was much easier to convey complex systems and their temporal couplings. Especially to higher Management as they can actually "read" how the sequence of events flow.
Try it out and see if it can be another tool on your belt.
Seconded. Software support for drawing and visualizing the approach is quite lacking at the moment though. The editor they provide at least offers a starting point [1][2].
As a big fan of Domain Driven Design I found "domain storytelling" a useful technique when adapted to software systems.
With these diagrams it was much easier to convey complex systems and their temporal couplings. Especially to higher Management as they can actually "read" how the sequence of events flow.
Try it out and see if it can be another tool on your belt.
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https://domainstorytelling.org