WILL THE REAL SCENARIO PLEASE STAND UP?

Abstract

At every phase of its development, human-computer interaction has had its devices for disabling critical thinking. In recent years, terms like "hypertext" and "groupware" have sometimes functioned that way. But such excesses have been countered by critical and debunking literature (e.g., Jones, 1987; Grudin, 1991). I would like to draw attention to another such device: the term "scenario". "Scenario" qualifies as a buzzword because it is extremely vague and has a myriad of uses. Indeed, it probably entered the HCI community from the US government bureaucracy, especially the military, where it remains a popular term for any detailed alternative possibility. Another established use is in business, in which a growth scenario describes the anticipated increase in demand for a product through the step-by-step fulfilment of a marketing plan.