How patterns support computer-mediated exchange of knowledge-in-use

• We provide a theoretical basis for the mode of operation of patterns.
• We investigate the effects of patterns in one field and one laboratory study.
• Patterns promote the difficult exchange of tacit knowledge-in-use.
• Patterns facilitate the recognition of solution-relevant problem features.
• Patterns support abstraction across similar experiences.

In times of knowledge exchange across geographical and temporal borders, the question arises as to how not only explicit or factual knowledge can be exchanged over distance, but also knowledge-in-use, with its high amount of tacit knowledge. This article introduces patterns as an established method for supporting the exchange of this knowledge-in-use. We first provide a theoretical basis for our assumption that patterns facilitate the exchange of knowledge-in-use, because they are external representations that are highly analog to people's internal knowledge representation.We then present two experiments testing this assumption: A field study with practitioners (n = 46) who had accumulated experiential knowledge-in-use over a period of several years, and a laboratory study (n = 61) where the students acquired knowledge-in-use during a standard learning period. Both experiments support the hypothesis that patterns facilitate the externalization of knowledge-in-use. With patterns, users described more solution-relevant features of a problem and focused more on abstract features of a solution than participants who explained their experiences without a pattern.