Irene Anggreeni

Tracing the Scenarios in Scenario-Based Product Design

Scenario-based design originates from the human-computer interaction and software engineering disciplines, and continues to be adapted for product development. Product development differs from software development in the former’s more varied context of use, broader characteristics of users and more tangible solutions. The possible use of scenarios in product design is therefore broader and more challenging. Existing design methods that involve scenarios can be employed in many different stages of the product design process. However, there is no proficient overview that discusses a scenario-based product design process in its full extent. The purposes of creating scenarios and the evolution of scenarios from their original design data are often not obvious, although the results from using scenarios are clearly visible. Therefore, this paper proposes to classify possible scenario uses with their purpose, characteristics and supporting design methods. The classification makes explicit different types of scenarios and their relation to one another. Furthermore, novel scenario uses can be referred or added to the classification to develop it in parallel with the scenario-based design practice. Eventually, a scenario-based product design process could take inspiration for creating scenarios from the classification because it provides detailed characteristics of

Supporting Scenario-Based Product Design and Its Adapters: An Informal Framework for Scenario Creation and Use

This paper proposes a support tool for designers who have realized the potential benefits of using a scenario-based approach, yet need a more concrete guidance for its implementation. As an informal framework for scenario creation and use, the tool supports three areas: (1) documenting the large amount of design information, (2) making sense of and summarizing the information by creating scenarios, and (3) sustaining an integrated use of the scenarios throughout the design process. By making explicit and supporting the process of using scenarios, we expect that designers can better structure their design information, communicate their ideas and confirm their rationales. Our ongoing work includes the verification of the tool concept and the development of a testable prototype.