System Design 101: Adapting & Evolving Design Patterns in Software Development

Think of 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐬 as solutions to recurring problems. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚’𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆-𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒐𝒇𝒕𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒑𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕. But what if the problem you’re dealing with isn’t the same as the one a particular pattern addresses? Here’s the cool part: you can often adapt existing patterns. It’s like 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 a recipe to suit your taste.

However, there’s a catch. When implementing a pattern, you should always consider ‘𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲’. This means building in a bit of 𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲. Think of it as future-proofing. You’re saying, ‘Hey, this solution might need to change a little down the road when new ingredients become available.’

But what if the problem undergoes a 𝐦𝐚𝐣𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧? Imagine your favourite recipe changes from baking a cake to grilling a steak. That’s when you realize the old recipe won’t work anymore. It’s time to introduce a new pattern — a new recipe perfect for the 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦.

In a nutshell, updating a design pattern depends on how the problem it tackles changes. If it’s just a 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐤, you can often tweak the pattern. But if the problem takes an entirely 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, it’s time to welcome a new pattern into the kitchen. The key is to keep your solutions 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐩-𝐭𝐨-𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 as the world evolves.