A Framework for Integrating the Social Web Environment in Pattern Engineering

In the last decade, patterns have emerged as a notable problem-solving approach in various disciplines. This paper aims to address the communication requirements of the elements of pattern engineering (namely, actors, activities, and artifacts) in general and the pattern realization process in particular. To that regard, a theoretical framework using the Social Web as the medium is proposed and its implications are explored. The prospects of using the Social Web are analyzed by means of practical scenarios and concrete examples. The concerns of using the Social Web related to cost to actors, decentralization and distribution of control, and semiotic quality of representations of patterns are highlighted. The directions for future research including the use of patterns for Social Web applications, and the potential of the confluence of the Social Web and the Semantic Web for communicating the elements of pattern engineering, are briefly explored.