Summary
If there is one key idea that you should take away from this book, it is that patterns are for everyone. Whether you are working as an architect, developer, tester, or business analyst, you should be looking at what patterns can be reused and what opportunities present themselves for new patterns. You need to be aware of the best-practice-based solutions and repeating situations where you can apply these best practices. Don't worry about finding the perfect pattern that will work for everyone in all situations. As stated by Alexander:
- You see then that the patterns are very much alive and evolving. In fact, if you like, each pattern may be looked upon as a hypothesis like one of the hypotheses of science.
- In this sense, each pattern represents our current best guess as to what arrangement . . . will work to solve the problem presented.22
Patterns represent the best thinking currently available. Patterns are alive; they do not start out as perfect entities but improve in quality over time as the community of software engineers investigates and refines them.
As you start your journey with PBE, you can leverage tools, processes, standards, and patterns, with a focus on how to identify, produce, manage, and consume patterns. Leveraging the PBE Core Values, Patterns, Guidelines, and associated Practice provides a set of materials you can use to guide you in adopting and succeeding with PBE.
If you already have started an ABD program, PBE makes a logical and easy addition to your efforts. If you have not yet started with ABD, PBE is a great initiative to use to get things going.