Orchestration

In DDD, orchestration refers to the coordination and management of domain objects and services to achieve a specific business goal or use case. It involves the use of a higher-level process or workflow to coordinate the interaction of multiple domain objects and services to achieve a specific task.

Orchestration can involve making decisions based on input from domain objects and coordinating the execution of tasks across multiple services. It is often used in complex business processes that involve multiple steps or interactions between different parts of the system.

Orchestration can be implemented using a variety of techniques, including workflow engines, messaging systems, and application-level frameworks. The goal is to ensure that the domain objects and services work together seamlessly to achieve the desired business outcome.

Example

In the retail domain, orchestration can be used to manage the process of order fulfillment. Let’s say a customer places an order for a product on an e-commerce website. The order contains the customer’s details and the product details, including the quantity ordered. The order then needs to be processed, fulfilled, and shipped to the customer.

The orchestration process could involve the following steps:

  1. Validation: The order details are validated to ensure that the product is in stock, the customer’s details are correct, and the payment has been approved.
  2. Inventory management: The inventory system is updated to reflect the order quantity, and a reservation is placed on the product to ensure that it’s not sold to another customer.
  3. Order processing: The order is processed, and a pick list is generated for the warehouse staff to pick and pack the product.
  4. Shipment: The order is shipped to the customer using a logistics provider, and the tracking details are updated on the order.

Each step in the process can be handled by a different service or system, and the orchestration layer coordinates the interaction between these services to ensure that the order is fulfilled correctly and efficiently.