A Matter of Change

We have seen during the first lecture, in the context of the strategy design pattern, that it was useful to isolate the part that was changing. In this way, we were able to change the behavior of an object by changing the algorithm without being able to redesign our application. Design Patterns are solutions to recurring problems that encapsulates concepts that varies giving you the possibility to adapt to changes without being necessary to redesign. For a list of the design aspects that design patterns let you vary please consult the GOF book on page 30.

Change should be part of the design but it should not stop at this level. Responding to change should be also part of the development process. Any agile software development methods welcome changing requirements even late in the development. Change is harnessed for the customer’s competitive advantage. The question is how to accommodate changes when designing new products and services? It might eventually require a new way of thinking and working.

The following book will give you some answers about how to incorporate change in the product design and reacting to the volatility of the market and customers expectation. The title of the book is "Subject To Change: Creating Great Products & Services for an Uncertain World: Adaptive Path on Design " written by Peter Merholz, Todd Wilkens, Brandon Schauer and David Verba from a small design consultancy company called Adaptive Path.

If you don’t have access to the book you can watch the following video presentation given by the of the authors to the Google employers.



Don't forget that sooner or later you will end up in the situation in which you need to sell the software that you are creating. I would specially recommend reading the book and watching the video for those of you that intend to start a company after your studies.