Patterns have shown to be an effective means of capturing and communicating software design experience. However, there is more to patterns than software design patterns: We believe that patterns work for software development on several levels. In this article we explore what we have come to understand as crucial aspects of the pattern concept, relate patterns to the different models built during software design, discuss pattern forms and how we think that patterns can form larger wholes like pattern handbooks. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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In the present business climate, many establishments such as hospitals, banks, and insurance companies tailor their services to the individual customer. Customers' needs become the center of attention and the service is adapted to address their needs.The more specific the required service, the more specialized the software solutions have to be. To achieve such flexibility, computer support is indispensable.

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In many engineering disciplines, prototyping is a technique employed mainly to improve the predictability of new projects involving risks. Prototyping has been adopted as a technique in software engineering for similar reasons. However, there is little documented experience with the use of prototyping in industrial software production. The following report aims to fill this gap by presenting case studies of industrial software projects explicitly using prototyping.The five projects selected for examination range from a large-scale project in the order of 240 person-years to a small 2-person-year project. The developer teams involved range from DP departments of large industrial corporations to small-to-medium-sized software manufacturers.The report closes with an analysis of the benefits and limitations of prototyping.Prototyping is by no means a new concept. In mechanical and civil engineering, prototyping is a technique used routinely to improve the predictability of new projects that involve risk. Prototyping has been adopted as a technique in software engineering for similar reasons. 0959-3845/92/$03.50

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