Developing Pattern Languages: New Ways of Communicating Naturalistic Insights for System Development and Evaluation

Motivation – The Naturalistic Decision Making (NDM) community benefits from having its insights used in software development projects. Research approach – We are investigating the pattern form as a way to incorporate findings from naturalistic research into software development. The socio-technical level of description – how technology impacts groups, teams, and organizations – is the focus of our work. Findings/Design – Pattern form offers the advantage of focusing interpretation and connecting to a solution outline over more traditional ways of making findings available. These advantages also make the pattern form good for use in the evaluation of systems where the need for solutions is immediate. Research limitations/Implications – The pattern form is not a panacea and will not replace NDM participation in development projects. Originality/Value – Patterns have not been used for evaluation at the socio-technical level. Take away message – Patterns may be useful for communicating NDM insights in development projects, particularly those at the socio-technical level.