Discovering Patterns

Transcript

1. Discovering Patterns
   Learning Lunch 2012 Series
   Zach Dennis
   

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2. The Purpose Of This Lunch
   Re-introduce/refresh patterns
   Seek out, discover, and expose patterns
   Share internally, better our team
   Share externally, better the world
   

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3. Patterns
   

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4. Patterns Are Everywhere
   Nature Science Man-Made
   Art Software
   

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5. Software Patterns
   low level bit pushing
   high-level concepts and abstractions
   programming languages
   frameworks
   architectural
   UX, IX, IA
   Process
   Domain
   

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6. Even we don’t see them, they exist
   Even when we don’t consciously apply
   them, we employ them
   Even when we can’t articulate them,
   they still have a definition
   

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7. Defined
   Intuitive
   Unknown
   3 Categories Of
   Patterns
   

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8. Defined Patterns
   Iterator
   Module
   Move Method
   MVC
   Accordion (UI)
   

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9. We can discuss them,
   debate them,
   criticize them,
   employ them
   

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10. Intuitive Patterns
    Employ them without knowing it
    We feel, sense, know them when they’re
    present
    Hard to describe, articulate
    Work well for the individual
    

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11. Unknown Patterns
    They are present
    But we’re not aware of them
    Waiting to be discovered
    Can have intuition associated with them
    

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12. Intuition in the Unknown
    You find some code that is awesome to work in.
    You try to share it with someone.
    You can only describe it as simple, well-
    factored, intuitive, easy to use, awesome, etc.
    You don’t know why this code is great, it just is.
    

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13. A Goal As Craftsmen
    Discover unknown patterns
    Expose intuitive patterns
    Deepen our common language to share solutions
    to types of problem sets
    Better ourselves, our teams
    Better the world
    

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14. “If your language is empty, your buildings cannot be full.
    If your language is poor, you cannot make good buildings
    until you enrich your language.
    If your language is rigid, your buildings must be rigid.
    If your language is florid, your buildings will be florid.
    Your language generates the buildings which you make, and
    the buildings live or not, according to the life your language
    has.”
    Christopher Alexander, The Timeless Way Of Building
    

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15. A pattern communicates:
    intent, context (Brief what/why)
    problem statement (More in-depth what/why/examples)
    solution statement (How, When, Where)
    associated visualizations (software visualizations usually suck)
    

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16. A Simple Definition
    A pattern is something that recurs, can
    be defined, has a rule which is sufficient
    for repetition, and provides contextual
    information about when it may apply.
    

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17. Pro-Tip
    Because a pattern exists does not make
    it valuable.
    Even though it may be well defined,
    clearly communicated, and eloquently
    written.
    

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18. “Pattern languages are a source of beauty and
    ugliness. The depth or banality comes from the
    pattern languages in the builder’s mind.”
    Christopher Alexander, The Timeless Way Of Building
    

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19. Pro-Tip
    We should never approach building
    anything by thinking ahead that we’re
    going to use pattern X, Y, and Z.
    That is disastrous and a mistake of
    inexperience or misunderstanding
    

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20. Pro-Tip cont...
    Patterns arise from paying meticulous
    attention to function.
    It is function which drives pattern
    usefulness, utility, and value.
    There are times we identify patterns
    ahead of time, but that should only
    come after understand context and
    function
    

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21. The Barn Example
    This example is from Christopher Alexander, The Timeless Way Of Building
    

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22. “You don’t work out the structural calculations
    every time you do it; once you are persuaded that
    this is a good way to build floors, you go on doing it
    that way, until you have some reason to rethink
    it.”
    Christopher Alexander, The Timeless Way Of Building
    

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23. A Useful Pattern
    Is more than just repetition or ability to
    repeat.
    It is repetition with utility
    From paying meticulous attention to
    function and context
    

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24. Primed and Ready
    To share patterns
    To find patterns
    To discuss them
    To debate them
    To criticize them
    To better our team
    And then better the world
    

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25. Some common examples
    Low level: Iterator, modules, classes, good variable/
    method/class names, well named tests, behavior oriented
    tests, Side Effect Free functions, Value Objects
    Mid-level: MVC/MVP/Presenter-First, Responsibility
    layers, convention of directory structure, Service Patterns,
    Dumb Client, Data Context & Interaction, etc)
    High-level: Continuous Integration, Automated Tests, Git
    Workflow, Pivotal Tracker Workflow, Iterations
    Super high-level: Product development patterns like
    Feedback loops Stand-up, Iteration, Milestone/Release,
    Project Mgmt patterns like Weekly Budget, etc.
    

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26. Open Discussion to:
    share any already defined patterns
    describe situations of intuitive patterns
    describe situations of unknown
    patterns
    we can pull up code
    we can draw on the whiteboards
    

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