Paper Presentation
Cartooneering - Using Comics and Personas to Enable the Definition of a Software Product Vision
Simon Andre Scherr, Sven Storck, Nedo Bartels, Annika Zepp and Bilgin Gültekin
Abstract:
In the early stages of software development, establishing a common vision among stakeholders is a critical challenge, especially with unclear requirements. This paper presents Cartooneering, a graphical scenario-building technique based on proto-personas and comics. It is a lightweight approach to visualize different user journeys and the resulting vision. It enables collaborative stakeholder discussions about their ideas and goals without the need for detailed and complex use cases on a visual level that everyone can understand, thereby enhancing their understanding of the overall product. The adaptability of comics enables iterative refinement of scenarios during the design process. Digital or paper-based elements like figures, objects, or speech bubbles enable gradual adaptations to the vision design without starting over. They also facilitate feedback integration from different stakeholder perspectives. The approach demonstrates agility in refining scenarios, fostering clear communication, and promoting a shared understanding among stakeholders. We share our experience and best practices in the form of design guidelines regarding the use of vision comics for requirement identification, validation, and the integration of multiple perspectives on a vision.