- Few patterns are truly isolated; they usually lead to other patterns or they solve problems set up by other patterns.
- Patterns are more useful if their relationships to other patterns are documented.
- Determining and describing the related patterns can be hard work.
- Too many references to patterns may distract the reader from the solution you are trying to describe.
- It may be hard to find all the related patterns.
- One of the key advantages of a pattern language over a standalone pattern is its ability to guide the reader to the solution of a complex problem by leading them from one pattern to another. Stand-alone patterns have to work harder to establish their relationships.
- The pattern may have alternative patterns which solve the same problem in different ways.
- The pattern description should point out similarities or differences from other patterns which might seem, on the surface, to be the same.