Rising is internationally known for her work on patterns, the change process, and other related fields. In this paper, she addresses the issue of abstraction in patterns. While exploring a level of abstraction higher than she originally intended--or had even been comfortable with--for the book she was writing at the time [1], she was able to view her initial patterns as much more: as appropriate for introducing any kind of new idea.

Rising explains how the debate over abstraction levels is an intricate one: raising the level of abstraction indiscriminately can lead to oversimplifying the very purpose of patterns, but patterns sitting at the opposite end of the abstraction spectrum might be redundant and fail to add valuable knowledge. She suggests that patterns are only beneficial to the extent to which they represent useful new vocabulary within a domain, citing linguist Benjamin Whorf: “People can only construct thoughts for which they possess words.” The new vocabulary provided by the pattern enables users to express essential ideas that they would otherwise be unable to even conceive. Rising asserts that only in such cases is a pattern worth saving, and supports her point through concrete examples.

This paper is particularly recommended to those involved in the use or development of software and/or architectural patterns.