Enabling knowledge sharing in collaborative design using a socio-technical pattern language

This article draws initial conclusions from a longitudinal study researching the potential of pattern languages as enablers of knowledge sharing in the collaborative design of networked systems. Our use of the term "pattern" here alludes to the notion of collective use of a shared language in which generic solutions to recurring problems can be explored and represented. The case study looks at the different ways in which different project teams have used pattern-language-building to facilitate the collective representation, configuration or re-use of knowledge in distributed communities. It draws analogies with other "interface languages" for knowledge representation and use across social, technical and organizational domains.