Drama and Software Patterns

Patterns are recurring forms that generate structure by resolving conflicts of contradicting forces present in the context in which they are applied. First described as an approach to capturing building architecture knowledge by Alexander, patterns were extensively adopted in software development and also in other areas of human practice. Many patterns have been described and many different formats have been used for this. Instead of "describing patterns," many authors even say "writing patterns." However, a description of a pattern is not the pattern itself. Consequently, it does not bring an imminent understanding of the pattern. On the other hand, when looking at patterns directly, it is difficult to see their essence in all the details of the context in which they are applied. Drama and a particular kind of organizational patterns called drama patterns have much to offer here. With drama patterns, it is easy to prepare involving drama plays in a very short time. Drama patterns let their participants see them from within and understand why the conflict of contradicting forces is the essence of a pattern and how patterns generate so diverse solutions depending on the context. Some drama patterns correspond to certain design patterns. Consequently, these design patterns can be played and experienced directly. Organizing people in software development is similar to creating drama plays. Although these drama plays will never be performed in front of the audience, they are important because they are reflected in the resulting software systems. Many lessons from drama can help in growing software development organizations with organizational patterns.