Telling Tales: Narratives Of Classification And Control In The Design Of Taxonomic Software.

Turner, Susan; Turner, Phil; Raguenaud, Cedric; Kennedy, Jessie

Abstract

This paper draws on concepts from the structuralist analysis of narrative to explore aspects of
the role of stories in the small group design process. A brief review of relevant narratological
concepts is provided. Their application in a preliminary analysis of case study data from a
team designing taxonomic software is then reported. It is concluded that narratology, and in
particular the notion of focalisation, has useful descriptive potential in this context, and may
help to elucidate some difficulties in design communication and documentation. Suggestions
for extension of the work are included.

• Conference Name: Design Research Society Conference: Common Ground, September, 2002
• Start Date: Sep 5, 2002
• End Date: Sep 7, 2002
• Publication Date: 2002-09
• Deposit Date: Oct 27, 2009
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 27, 2009
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Book Title: Proceedings of Design Research Society Conference: Common Ground, September, 2002
• Keywords: Computer programming; Program design; Taxonomy; Narrative; Role; Structural analysis
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/id/eprint/3026
• Contract Date: Oct 27, 2009