Some reflections on the design process in software engineering and HCI
Alistair Sutcliffe · 2004
Models are essential for engineering approaches to design, assumed in SE and HCI. However, models inevitably have limitations in their comprehensibility even with informal notations. Scenarios have received much attention as an effective means of user-designer communication; in SE, this is seen as a starting point for generating models, while in HCI scenarios are used as prostheses for design inspiration. The paper reviews different conceptions of scenarios and models with the contributions they can make to the design process. The review explores the potential for constructive contrasts between scenarios as concrete, grounded examples and generalised, abstract models in an integrated view of systems development that encompasses both HCI and SE.