Maintainable
Pattern
Libraries
@bermonpainter | Web Unleashed
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Patterns
The foundation of repeatable interactions that when
combined create rich and complex systems.
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Benefits
A useful tool to use when breaking down a user interface
into it’s most modular pieces, instead of thinking about
things as a series of disconnected pages.
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Benefits
1. Collaboration
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Benefits
1. Collaboration
2. Language
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Benefits
1. Collaboration
2. Language
3. Consistency
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Benefits
1. Collaboration
2. Language
3. Consistency
4. Efficiency
Static Style Guides
Built with (or generated) static HTML. They are standalone
representations of modules that are build separately from
your applications.
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Living Style Guides
Generated HTML, typically created from parsing
documentation created as comments in CSS files.
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Challenges
You’ve implemented a living style guide. Now what? It’s
difficult it is to get buy-in, train teams, maintain the
codebase between the pattern library and one or more
applications, deal with technical debt, etc.
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Challenges
Adoption
If the people that manage the money don’t see or
understand the value in a pattern library, the won’t dedicate
the time, resources, and budget to maintain one.
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Challenges
Governance
Loose collaboration will fail. The must be a framework that
clearly defines roles, responsibilities, and who have the
authority to make decisions and provide a clear direction to
the team.
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Challenges
Governance
1. Strategy: who determines the overall strategy
2. Policy: who determines what the team must and must not do
3. Standards: who decides the nature of the pattern library
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Challenges
Application
The entire team must be on board on writing patterns,
following code standards, and maintaining the patterns.
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Challenges
Duplication of HTML
With a static or living style guide and application you have
2x the maintenance. Each additional application increases
the amount of work it takes to maintain and increases
technical debt.
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Module Anatomy
Focus on implementing modules as a “single source of
truth” to be used across multiple application, without
relying on copy/paste.
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.css
Function &
Unit Tests
.html
.js
.coffee
.sass
.slim
1. Responsive
2. Accessible
3. Versioned
4. Managed Dependencies
Module
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.css
Function &
Unit Tests
.html
.js
.coffee
.sass
.slim
Pattern Library
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.css
Function &
Unit Tests
.html
.js
.coffee
.sass
.slim
Pattern Library
Application
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.css
Function &
Unit Tests
.html
.js
.coffee
.sass
.slim
Pattern Library
Applications
Creating Pages
1. Elements (base elements, like Normalize)
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Creating Pages
1. Elements (base elements, like Normalize)
2. Modules (combination of elements)
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Creating Pages
1. Elements (base elements, like Normalize)
2. Modules (combination of elements)
3. Theme (look and feel specific to an application)
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Creating Pages
1. Elements (base elements, like Normalize)
2. Modules (combination of elements)
3. Theme (look and feel specific to an application)
4. Layout (combination of elements, modules, theme)
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Creating Pages
1. Elements (base elements, like Normalize)
2. Modules (combination of elements)
3. Theme (look and feel specific to an application)
4. Layout (combination of elements, modules, theme)
5. Page (generated output served to the client)