Scenarios - A tool for starting a research process

Paper i proceeding, 1998

Scenarios can be used as a tool for starting a research process within a group. When putting together a research group of people with different backgrounds, differentcompetencies and different preconceived ideas, special attention has to be put on the problem of integration.Many different "tools" can be used to help merging thedifferent approaches of the individuals constituting thegroup. One such tool is scenario work. Trends arecreated by analyzing and structuring the environment around the project. Combining and extrapolating the trends gives a basis for creating the scenarios. The scenarios are then used to help refining research issues. Both the process and the result are hence of importance. The process aims at revealing the different approachesand possible conflicts due to the different scientific andresearch traditions among the members of the group. Theresult forms a basis for refining and limit the researchquestion. The work within the 4th Generation Wireless Infrastructure project group of the PCC-project aims atfinding important design issues for the infrastructure of a future wireless communication system. Using the scenarios as a starting point the research questions originally put, have been successfully challenged andrefined.