The Use of Patterns in Information System Engineering

The aims of this dissertation are to investigate the use and usefulness of patterns in Information Systems Engineering and to identify future areas of research. In order to do this there is a need to survey different types of patterns and find a common concept of patterns. A pattern is based on experience found in the real world. A text or a model or a combination of the both can describe the pattern. A pattern is typically described in terms of context, forces, problem, and solution. These can be explicitly expressed or implicitly found in the description of the pattern. The types of patterns dealt with are: object-oriented patterns; design patterns, analysis patterns; data model patterns; domain patterns; business patterns; workflow patterns and the deontic pattern. The different types of patterns are presented using the authors' own terminology. The patterns described in the survey are classified with respect to different aspects. The intention of this analysis is to form a taxonomy for patterns and to bring order into the vast amount of patterns. This is an important step in order to find out how patterns are used and can be used in Information Systems Engineering. The aspects used in the classification are: level of abstraction; text or model emphasis; product or process emphasis; life cycle stage usage and combinations of these aspects. Finally an outline for future areas of research is presented. The areas that have been considered of interest are: patterns and Information Systems Engineering methods; patterns and tools (tool support for patterns); patterns as a pedagogical aid; the extraction and documentation of patterns and patterns and novel applications of information technology. Each future area of research is sketched out.