The application of metaphor, analogy, and conceptual models in computer systems
Lucy Anne Wozny · Interacting with Computers · 1989
People using computer systems naturally relate what they are experiencing to what they already know. This general cognitive process can be classified into metaphoric, analogical, and modelling processes. Metaphor, a term applied often to today's computer systems, is the process of representing the computer system with objects and events from a noncomputer domain, such as the popular desktop metaphor. Analogy is a comparison between objects or events that serve the same purpose but have different representations. Models are representations of the abstract conceptual structure of a computer system. This paper outlines the differences between these three processes and applies them to the computer domain. Implications for computer systems design are also discussed.