Domain modelling

SkillAI & models

Actively build and sharpen a project's domain model - challenge terms against the glossary, stress-test boundaries with scenarios, cross-reference against the code, and record the glossary (CONTEXT.md) and decisions (ADRs) the moment they crystallise. Use when you are changing the domain model itself, pinning down a ubiquitous language, or recording an architectural decision.

Available today. Use it from your connected AI after setup.

Connect ahel once, and every AI you use reads what you have installed.

Then ask your AI: use the Domain modelling skill

What this skill tells your AI

The instructions your AI receives, as published by sammcj/agentic-coding in Skills_disabled/domain-model/SKILL.md and read by ahel’s review.

Actively build and sharpen the project's domain model as you design. This is the active discipline - challenging terms, inventing edge-case scenarios, and writing the glossary and decisions down the moment they crystallise. Merely reading CONTEXT.md for vocabulary is not this skill; that is a one-line habit any skill can do. This skill is for when you are changing the model, not just consuming it.

File structure

Most repos have a single context:

/
├── CONTEXT.md
├── docs/
│   └── adr/
│       ├── 0001-event-sourced-orders.md
│       └── 0002-postgres-for-write-model.md
└── src/

If a CONTEXT-MAP.md exists at the root, the repo has multiple contexts. The map points to where each one lives:

/
├── CONTEXT-MAP.md
├── docs/
│   └── adr/                          ← system-wide decisions
├── src/
│   ├── ordering/
│   │   ├── CONTEXT.md
│   │   └── docs/adr/                 ← context-specific decisions
│   └── billing/
│       ├── CONTEXT.md
│       └── docs/adr/

Create files lazily - only when you have something to write. If no CONTEXT.md exists, create one when the first term is resolved. If no docs/adr/ exists, create it when the first ADR is needed.

During the session

Challenge against the glossary

When the user uses a term that conflicts with the existing language in CONTEXT.md, call it out immediately. "Your glossary defines 'cancellation' as X, but you seem to mean Y - which is it?"

Sharpen fuzzy language

When the user uses vague or overloaded terms, propose a precise canonical term. "You're saying 'account' - do you mean the Customer or the User? Those are different things."

Discuss concrete scenarios

When domain relationships are being discussed, stress-test them with specific scenarios. Invent scenarios that probe edge cases and force the user to be precise about the boundaries between concepts.

Cross-reference with code

When the user states how something works, check whether the code agrees. If you find a contradiction, surface it: "Your code cancels entire Orders, but you just said partial cancellation is possible - which is right?"

Update CONTEXT.md inline

When a term is resolved, update CONTEXT.md right there. Don't batch these up - capture them as they happen. Use the format in CONTEXT-FORMAT.md.

CONTEXT.md should be totally devoid of implementation details. Do not treat CONTEXT.md as a spec, a scratch pad, or a repository for implementation decisions. It is a glossary and nothing else.

Offer ADRs sparingly

Only offer to create an ADR when all three are true:

  1. Hard to reverse - the cost of changing your mind later is meaningful
  2. Surprising without context - a future reader will wonder "why did they do it this way?"
  3. The result of a real trade-off - there were genuine alternatives and you picked one for specific reasons

If any of the three is missing, skip the ADR. Use the format in ADR-FORMAT.md.

Signals

GitHub stars
160
Forks
25
Last commit
Sep 2026
Advanced
Catalog kind
skill
Gateway key
domain-model-sammcj
Source
github.com/sammcj/agentic-coding