Abstract
An emerging technology with a secure and a decentralized nature, blockchain has the potential to transform conventional practices in an efficient and dynamic manner. However, migrating to blockchain can be challenging due to the complexity of its infrastructure and processes. The complexity of building applications on blockchain has been highlighted by many studies, thus stressing the need to investigate practical solutions further. A commonly known software engineering concept, software design pattern contributes to the acceleration of software development. It offers a holistic reusable solution for commonly occurring problems in a given context. It helps to identify problems that occur repetitively and describes best practices to address them. The present study is one of the first investigations to inquire into design patterns for blockchain application. Seeking to reduce the complexity in understanding and building applications on blockchain, this paper identifies a design pattern elicitation framework from similar blockchain applications. Next, it provides a demonstration of the Proof of Integrity (PoI) pattern elicited from two different applications on the blockchain. The applicability of the pattern is evaluated by building a blockchain application to verify the integrity of the academic certificates and by explaining how this integrity has been achieved empirically.