11.3 To Be Continued

to make an end is to make a beginning

The end is where we start from. And every phrase

And sentence that is right is an end and a beginning

history is a pattern

Of timeless moments

the end of all our exploring

Will be to arrive where we started

And know the place for the first time

Through the unknown, remembered gate (Eliot 1966, 58-59)

My overview of Schon's ideas on reflective design is necessarily just a brief sample. His books on reflective practice contain much more that could be useful to anyone doing systems design. I believe that all good designers follow the approach Schon discusses, but tacitly. Like Alexander, Ishikawa, and Murray, Schon surfaces ways of doing that are timeless and perhaps universal. The UML and patterns are expressions of a similar need to leverage experience and connect with proven ways of knowing and doing.

This is the end of my book, but a book like this is never complete. The UML is still a work-in-progress, and patterns are always changing. There are many other valuable patterns, articles, Web pages, and books that can be connected. Much of the material that is here can be improved, detailed, and refined. Therefore, until UML 2.0 comes out and a real stable UML base is available, I'll be maintaining a Web site (www.umlpatterns.com) that will be the home for new patterns, better examples, and extended links.