Pattern language: A framework for learning

Pattern languages (PLs) were devised for use in architecture and urban design as ways of providing useful access to design knowledge both for the expert designer and for the lay user. They have subsequently found use in the software community for technical and organisational issues. The paper reports some applications of PLs: (1) as a vehicle for making explicit knowledge that would otherwise remain tacit; (2) as an aid to teaching; (3) as a means of presenting statistical methods to managers.