Pattern Selection — Decision Tree

Source: Gang of Four — Design Patterns (1994); Martin Fowler — PoEAA (2002); Evans — DDD (2003)

The Rule

Name the pain before naming the pattern. A pattern applied without a clear pain statement is speculation. Patterns fail not because they are wrong in theory, but because they were applied to a problem that did not exist yet, or the wrong problem.

Ask first: What is the friction I am trying to remove?

The Three Branches

Branch 1 — Is the pain about creating objects?