The reader creates a personal meaning: A comparative study of scenarios and human-centred stories

Abstract

Different types of written textual descriptions are of ten used in interaction design. This paper describes an empirical study of how conventional scenarios and stories with emotional and dramatic elements may contribute to software developers' understanding of interfaces, of contexts and situations of use. The results show first, that software developers create a personal understanding of written descriptions by combining parts of them with their personal experiences. Second, that both scenarios and stories improve their understanding of technical information. Third, that stories with emotions and dramatic elements improve their understanding of contexts and situations of use substantially more than conventional scenarios. Fourth, that software developers may find it comparatively easy to write stories with emotional and dramatic elements.