Dynamics of Type-based Scenarios of Use

Opening Processes in Early Phases of Interactive Television and Electronic Marketplaces

Abstract

Designers’ representations of how and by whom a technological system will be used play an important role in the shaping of technologies. Conceptually, this article presents an analytical concept of scenarios of use that is based on the notion of script by Akrich, but adds insights from the interactionist theory of Alfred Schutz. In so doing, we are able to trace how these scenarios for new technologies build on previously established and widespread typified conceptions of technologies and related scenarios of use. Empirically, drawing on case studies in the field of e-commerce and interactive television, this article examines the formation and evolution of scenarios of use across multiple design phases as a result of processes at the level of design projects as well as technological fields. The dynamic patterns observed in the case studies are then discussed. In contrast to the focus on closure of socio-technical variants given in many technology studies, in the present cases we instead observe opening processes, that is, the generation of new variants.