Reading our original research paper on Time-Oriented Software Development (TOSD), you may have noticed that, in TOSD, nothing is optional. The OK Point, the TTEO principle, List curation, eliminating teams and support roles in favor of distinguishing between Cs and Rs – you cannot take out any element out of this kind of system without making it fall apart. TOSD is minimalistic. Accordingly, the 18 patterns described in this paper are not additions to TOSD, or somewhat new features of time orientation in product development. Instead, the patterns are part of the fine print that will make it easier for you to make TOSD work well in practice. And to bring about a TOSD system, fast, regardless of the number of developers that can be considered part of your system of software development.
The patterns in this paper cover aspects of TOSD we were not (fully) aware of when we published the first research paper on TOSC, in late 2025: Some are patterns we wanted to see confirmed in practice first. We discovered the patterns through work with pioneering companies, including Pradtke, and they were also informed by extensive research into software development literature, and by concepts of time orientation like those outlined in the new book What would Ernst Weichselbaum do?
***
This research paper is also available in a high-quality print edition, from Red42.
Also read our series of articles about the “Patterns” research on the BetaCodex Substack!
Download Your Copy
Missing your language? Help us translate!