Event Storming on a Whiteboard

Map a system flow by dragging real PD Models and analytics events onto a m18t whiteboard as entity nodes, then formalize the gaps in PD and the Events Manager.

What you'll learn

What event storming is

Event storming is a way to map how a system behaves by laying out the events that happen and the data they touch — "user submits checkout" → which models change, what fires next. It's normally done with sticky notes on a wall. The weakness of the wall is that the stickies are just words; they don't connect to anything real.

On a m18t whiteboard you can do the same exercise but with live records. Drag your real PD Models and your real analytics events onto the canvas as Entity Nodes, wire them with edges, and you've mapped the flow against things that actually exist in your workspace — each node showing its current status and clickable through to the record.

This is most useful when you're designing or reviewing a flow: you can see the data (Models) and the moments (Events) in one picture, and notice gaps — an event with no model behind it, a model nothing fires against.

How to do it

  1. Create or open a whiteboard for the right brand.
  2. Open the Studio Entities panel from the canvas toolbar (the orbit button).
  3. Filter to Product Dev → Models and drag the Models in your flow onto the canvas.
  4. Switch the filter to Events and drag the relevant analytics events on too.
  5. Connect the nodes with edges to show the order of the flow — what triggers what, which event touches which model.
  6. Annotate with plain stickies, shapes, or text where you need commentary the records don't carry.

The board autosaves as you go. Come back to it and the layout and the entity statuses are current.

From a loose board to real structure

A board is for the messy, exploratory phase. It doesn't create PD or event records — you drag existing ones on. So the flow usually goes:

  1. Sketch on a board — drag on what exists, use stickies for what doesn't yet, find the gaps.
  2. Formalize in PD — for missing data, add the Models and Attributes in the Product Manager tables.
  3. Register events — define new events in the Events Manager; they're a PD entity, but authored there.
  4. Re-map — drag the now-real records back onto the board to confirm the flow holds.

Once the structure is real, the Event Flow tab in PD's Visual Analysis gives you a generated view of how events connect to controllers and models — the formal counterpart to the board you sketched by hand.

A beta note: events on a board are entity nodes you drag on, not something the board generates or instruments. Wiring an event to code is a separate step covered under the event registry. The board is for mapping, not for emitting.

FAQ

Does dragging an event onto a board create or fire that event? No. Entity Nodes reference existing records. The board maps events; it doesn't define or emit them. Define events in the Events Manager.

Can I put both Models and Events on the same board? Yes — that's the point. Filter the Studio Entities panel to Models, drag them on, switch to Events, drag those on, and connect them.

What if a model or event doesn't exist yet? Use a plain sticky or shape as a placeholder, then create the real record in PD or the Events Manager and drag it on once it exists.

Is there an automatic version of this? For records you've already modeled, the Event Flow tab in Visual Analysis renders events against their controllers and models. The whiteboard is the free-form, design-time version.

Why are my entities missing from the panel? Check the brand — boards and the entities you can drag on are brand-scoped.

What's next

Was this article helpful?