After analyzing the integration patterns between a system’s bounded contexts, we can plot them on a context map, as shown in Figure 4-8.

Figure 4-8. Context map

The context map is a visual representation of the system’s bounded contexts and the integrations between them. This visual notation gives valuable strategic insight on multiple levels:

High-level design

A context map provides an overview of the system’s components and the models they implement.

Communication patterns

A context map depicts the communication patterns among teams—for example, which teams are collaborating and which prefer “less intimate” integration pat‐ terns, such as the anticorruption layer and separate ways patterns.

Organizational issues

A context map can give insight into organizational issues. For example, what does it mean if a certain upstream team’s downstream consumers all resort to

implementing an anticorruption layer, or if all implementations of the separate ways pattern are concentrated around the same team?