Traces, tracks, trails, and paths: an exploration of how we approach software design

ABSTRACTPattern authors intentionally create waypoints---points of interests along a design trail they hope others can traverse. While designers may read others' design advice---be it patterns or stack overflow replies, the heuristics they've personally discovered are equally important. Patterns are just a small part of a much larger body of our design know how. Heuristics, like patterns, can be expressed at various levels. Some are small, simple acts. Others are bigger steps, taken at the beginning of a design journey. This essay explores ways we can grow as designers by becoming more aware of our heuristics, acknowledging the inherent uncertainty in the design process, and learning better ways to articulate and share our heuristics with each other.