Selective Changes

... the workshop is done, the author has received SuggestionsForImprovement, and is working on the next iteration of the pattern or PatternLanguage. How should the author proceed?

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Authors may receive diverse, even contradictory, feedback on their work.

It's an advantage to have a diverse collection of reviewers, since chances are good that they'll think of something you didn't think of. On the other hand, such a broad group of reviewers may not provide a consensus view.

Indeed, there is nothing about the WritersWorkshop format that drives toward consensus.

This leaves the author with a dilemma: which reviewers' opinions should the author act on?

Furthermore, the author may disagree even with unambiguous opinions that come out of the writers' workshop.

Should the author be bound to take the advice of the workshop?

Therefore:

The author is not bound to the verbatim advice of the WritersWorkshop. Rather, the experience might help the author develop a new perspective, which in turn inspires the author to change the work. There may be simple changes that the author chooses to make if convinced they are worthwhile. But, in all cases, changes are at author discretion: the results of the WritersWorkshop are the property of the author.

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NEXT: ClearingThePalate

-- JimCoplien

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