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Pattern Coordinates

A pattern name without coordinates is a tag, not a design decision.

Definition

A pattern coordinate is the (cognitive function, execution topology) pair that anchors a pattern to a specific cell in the design matrix. Without coordinates, a pattern name is a label that lets people agree they are "using a pattern" while disagreeing on the design. With coordinates, two engineers can find out within one sentence whether they are talking about the same thing.

The problem it names

[TODO: 咖哥 voice — 那个标志性的例子。两个工程师都说 "we used Plan-and-Execute", 结果一个做的是 Action × Chain(线性 plan 执行)、另一个做的是 Action × Orchestrate (动态 replanning)—— 同一个名字,两个完全不同的系统,bug 也完全不同。 Pattern name 不够,坐标才够。]

How it changes design decisions

Three operative consequences:

1. Code review becomes specific. "This looks like Reflection × Loop, but the exit condition is missing — was that intentional?" beats "is this Reflection done right?"
2. Pattern selection becomes a search. "I need something in Memory × Route" returns one candidate (Hierarchical Retention); "I need a Memory pattern" returns five.
3. Architectural debt becomes nameable. "We have a Reasoning × Parallel pattern doing what should be a Reasoning × Loop" is a refactor proposal. "Our reasoning is messy" is not.

Lineage

• Software architecture as point-in-design-space (Shaw & Garlan, 1990s) — designs live in a space, not as instances
• GoF patterns + classification — "Builder" alone is ambiguous; "Builder (creational, object)" anchors it
• Cloud architecture reference catalogs — every pattern entry has a context coordinate (scenario × deployment topology)

What it is NOT

• Not bureaucracy. The coordinate is two short tokens, not a form.
• Not "more taxonomy." A coordinate is a smaller commitment than another pattern name.
• Not a substitute for the pattern. The coordinate locates the pattern; the pattern still does the work.

Where it's developed further

• Book treatment: Designing AI Agents (Manning, 2026) — introduced explicitly in Ch2, used throughout
• The Pattern Selection Card methodology: turns problem statement into coordinate, coordinate into candidate patterns
• Full coordinate catalog: adpsagent.com/patterns/

Cite as: Huang, J. (2026). Pattern Coordinates. kage-ai.com/concepts/pattern-coordinates/