  This paper shows how we combine and adapt methods from elite training, future
studies, and collaborative design, and apply them to address significant
problems in social networks. We focus on three such methods: we use Project
Action Reviews to implement social perception, Causal Layered Analysis to
implement social cognition, and Design Pattern Languages to implement social
action. We present the results of two studies: firstly, we use Causal Layered
Analysis to explore the ways in which the design pattern discourse has been
evolving. Secondly, to illustrate the three methods in combination, we develop
a case study, showing how we applied the methods to bootstrap a distributed
cross-disciplinary research seminar. Building on these analyses, we elaborate
several scenarios for the future use of design patterns in large-scale
distributed collaboration. Our case study suggests ways in which progress could
be made towards realizing these scenarios. We conclude that the combination of
methods is robust to uncertainty, insofar as they support adaptations as
circumstances change, and incorporate diverse perspectives. In particular, we
show how methods drawn from other domains enrich and are enriched by design
patterns; we believe the analysis will be of interest to all of the communities
whose methods we draw upon.
