Discover New Patterns

Patterns are born from experience. New patterns emerge every day. Some patterns might apply to a variety of systems and teams. Others might be hyper local, perhaps only applicable to a single organization. New patterns spontaneously emerge all the time, though one does not simply invent a new architecture pattern.

Architects discover patterns in much the same way an entomologist discovers a new species of insect. Spend time in the field. Observe the world around you. When you’ve identified a possible pattern, describe it and classify it relative to existing patterns. If your discovery is similar to something that exists, add your knowledge to our collective wisdom of the existing pattern by publishing a blog post or paper. If your discovery is new, then add it to your team’s pattern catalog.

There are two primary approaches to discovering patterns: problem focused and solution focused. With the problem-focused approach, you start by looking for a common problem. Once you’ve seen the same problem a few times, your goal is to develop a generalized solution. Survey the existing solutions. Look for similarities and differences among the current solutions. Based on your analysis, attempt to describe the solution pattern.

With the solution-focused approach, you start by looking for solutions that are used again and again, perhaps without developers realizing it. Describe the solution pattern as you’ve observed it. Do some analysis to uncover the common problem being solved and attempt to define it.

Once you have a pattern, send it out for feedback. Look for people who are familiar with the problem or have implemented the solution before. The final test of your pattern will be in its first implementation. Use the feedback from your reviewers and the early implementation attempts to improve the pattern.