Call for Proposals

Deadline: March 20, 2026 at 11:59 PM MDT

We review submissions on a rolling basis, so submitting early increases your chances.

Explore DDD is a conference with domain-driven design at the center, with participants sharing insights, experiences, and experiments in real-world software design.

We look for content that shares a pragmatic and grounded approach to the challenges of modeling and design, especially through case studies.

To maximize your chances of being on the conference program, please read and follow the CFP guidelines below carefully.

CFP Guidelines

We are dedicated to creating a safe, welcoming environment for everyone. As part of submitting a proposal, you agree to comply with the conference Code of Conduct.

Please upload a real photo of yourself as your profile picture on Sessionize. We use speaker photos on our website, printed materials, and promotional graphics. Logos, illustrations, AI-generated images, or default placeholders will not be accepted. If your submission is selected, we may ask you to update your photo before we can announce you.

Formats

You can propose as many sessions as you like for any of these formats:

Short Talk 25 min

Regular Talk 45 min

Hands-on Session 2 hrs

Pre-Conference Workshop 2 days Monday & Tuesday

Increase Your Chances

Evaluating a submission based on nothing but an abstract is hard. Help us get to know you and your ideas by:

Sending us links to your content (blog posts, videos of past talks, etc.).
Blogging about your topic.
Sharing a short video pitch explaining your idea and why it matters to the DDD community.

We generally prefer talks that are not technology-specific, although exceptions are possible. Code examples in talks are welcome, but should be understandable by developers not familiar with your programming language.

Building a program involves lots of trade offs, and often we have the painful task of refusing great proposals for other reasons than the topic. If yours is not accepted, please consider this an invitation to try again next year.

A one-minute soft pitch at the beginning or end of your talk is acceptable, but don't make your talk a sales pitch. Instead, if you would like to pitch your product or service, we provide plenty of sponsorship opportunities.

What About Running a Conference Hands-on Session?

An ideal two-hour conference hands-on session:

is focused on a domain, a methodology, or an approach, rather than a technology
favors practice over theory
can range from experimental to well-known formats
puts the "work" in "workshop": modeling, drawing, writing, discussing, coding, …
encourages collaboration between participants
makes you want to go to the office on Monday and change the way you work!

We're especially interested in hands-on sessions that include coding exercises. Be sure to include details about the coding language in your session description so attendees know what to expect.

What to expect in your hands-on session space: Screen with HDMI connection and sound; table groupings for 4-6 people; power in the room; whiteboards; easel with Post-it easel pad and markers; rolls of paper; sticky notes and sharpies. Speakers will not be mic'd.

Pre-Conference Workshop Details

Workshops will run 8 hours each day with a lunch break
We will provide a screen with HDMI connection and power in the room
Let us know your preferred setup in your submission
We will keep you regularly updated on attendance as the event draws closer
There must be a minimum number of attendees registered in order for a workshop to be considered viable

Compensation

Our goal is to make this a wonderful, memorable, and welcoming conference experience for all our speakers.

Travel Expenses

We offer a travel stipend as follows: $700 for North American speakers and $1500 for international speakers.

Speakers will receive 1 stipend per conference and 1 stipend will be paid per session, regardless of the number of speakers.

Alternatively, your company can pay for expenses, which increases our ability to fund other conference offerings. We are also happy to offer sponsorship visibility for your company.

Accommodation

Conference speakers will receive a complimentary conference ticket and hotel stay on Tuesday through Friday nights. We also cover Sunday and Monday nights for 2-day pre-conference workshop instructors.

Speaker Dinner

All speakers are invited to the Speaker Dinner.

Pre-Conference Workshops

Profit share for the workshops is 50% of ticket sales after venue expenses (i.e. AV, room setup, workshop supplies, any printing of materials, food and beverage, etc.).

For any special requirements or custom agreements, please include it in your submission or contact us.

Submission Process

Send us as many submission proposals as you'd like in the CFP form, for as many of the accepted formats as you like, before the submission deadline.
We are likely to start accepting proposals before the deadline, so being early helps.
We might ask you to have a short conference call with us. Sometimes we like to ask for clarifications, or suggest changes to the contents or the format. If we contact you for such a call, it is not a guarantee your proposal will be accepted.
We'll notify you no later than 30 days after the submission deadline whether your idea is accepted or not. We'll ask for a final confirmation before announcing you.
Even after you've been accepted, we'd like to help you make the most of your presentation or workshop. That's why we offer presentation support. We'll put you in touch with other speakers, to help you develop your material, be your sounding board, and give you feedback. We might also ask you to do the same for others. We've found that even for experienced speakers, a bit of back and forth can greatly improve the presentation or workshop.

Privacy

In our CFP the personal information we collect is solely for Explore DDD. We will never provide your email or any other personal information to a third party for marketing purposes. We will use your email for EDDD-related communication. Your name and email will be provided to the conference hotel for room reservation. Your name will also be used on printed schedules, name lists, and name badges. In any other case, we will clarify how the information will be used as we ask for it.

You will be asked to agree with our privacy policy when you fill out the CFP. By providing us with the information, you are giving us consent to use it for the purpose we have specified. We will be videoing and photographing participants (speakers, attendees, sponsors etc.) for promotional purposes during the conference.

Visa Requirements

For those traveling to the USA from overseas, information on visa requirements can be found here.

Depending on your nationality, you may be able to travel on the visa waiver program (VWP) for business. If so, you will need to fill out an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). The Visa Waiver Program website explains who qualifies for VWP and has a link for completing the ESTA. If you do not qualify for the VWP, you will need to apply for a B-1 Visa.