Telling tales: narratives of classification and control in the design of taxonomic software Susan Turner, Phil Turner, Cedric Raguenaud and Jessie Kennedy HCI Research Group, School of Computing, Napier University, 10 Colinton Road, Edinburgh, EH9 5DT email [s.turner, p.turner, c.raguenaud, j.kennedy]@napier.ac.uk 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. Introduction In this paper we present a case-study based exploration of the role of stories in the small group design process. Small group design activity has been the subject of much research and theoretical development. Shared space, physical resources and embodied action (e.g. Robertson, 1997; Dourish, 2001; Tang, 1991 and Radcliffe, 1996) have received considerable attention, as have the study of the elements and dynamics of the design process (e.g. Olson et al 1992; Olson et al 1996; Potts and Catledge, 1996, Ball and Ormerod, 2000) while the social constructivists have also made their case (e.g. Bucciarelli, 1994; Lloyd 2000). Again from a social perspective, collaboration styles have been studied by Maher et al (1997) while the pattern, structure and substance of communication within and outside the team has received the attention of a number of researchers (e.g. Cross and Clayburn-Cross, 1996; Cahour and Pemberton, 1998; Perry and Sanderson, 1998, Reid and Reed, 2000). We contribute to this last theme by illustrating how stories steer the design work, act as communication tools and create obstacles to mutual understanding. This last point is explored and illustrated by way of a narratological analysis. The paper shows how such an analysis can help both to describe and understand the process and the communication difficulties which arise. Our analysis (and illustration) is based on a study of a small group of designers developing taxonomic software for botanists in a project known as Prometheus II. As practitioners and occasional theorists of user-centred design (UCD), this paper forms part of a developing strand of research into the role of narrative in the user design process. In contrast to the more familiar study of narratives in design (i.e. the use of the ubiquitous scenario) we are interested in how the concepts, vocabulary and constructs of narratology can provide us with a means of analysing, describing and illustrating the subject matter and dynamics of design meetings. Elsewhere we have discussed how the desire to commit to a coherent joint design story submerges many competing narratives, with predictably unfortunate results (Turner, Turner and McCall 2001). We have also shown how a strong narrative structure is an essential component of a successfully engaging collaborative virtual environment (Turner and Turner, 2002) and how the actions of the designer as narrated in many reports of UCD bears a startlingly close resemblance to the stylised story of the hero’s journey found in myth and folktale (Turner and Turner, 2001).